LISA SAMMUT
’TAPESTRIES FOR GALAXIES’
1 MARCH – 1 APRIL
Tapestries for galaxies, 2017, Installation shot. Photography by Document Photography.
ID: The gallery is filled with large sculptures that are placed close together. On the floor of the gallery, there is a rectangular platform with velvet fabric over it, atop which many sculptural objects are laid on. The objects are geometrical in nature and shape. Behind the platform there is a tall triangular piece that is held in place by four bricks on the floor. The work is a flat piece of material that has been painted in a gradient of black at the bottom to white at the top. A hole is cut out in the center of the triangle. On either side of the triangle, two poles with circular shapes at the top are attached to multiple ribbons which are held to the ground with weights, creating a space around the poles. Behind these works, are sculptural structures which hold more geometric items. Two flat screen televisions are placed in the space, one on the floor showing a sphere of light on a black backdrop and another low to the ground on the back wall of the gallery, showing an abstract collage of shapes and lines over a white background. The window at the back of the gallery is covered in a dark curtain with a circle cut out of the fabric.
EXHIBITION STATEMENT
Tapestries for galaxies was concerned with the knowledge of a distant cosmic reality – so present in imagination yet far removed from the grasp of our immediate senses. A panoramic constellation of celestial structures and handmade prop-like objects, the installation presented a speculative new cosmography, where the historical practice of diagrammatical illustrations of an interconnected universal whole takes material form. Drawing on relations rather that representations, tapestries for galaxies looked to the likeness, alignments, chemistry and mimesis between objects as a relational tool for embodying a sense of expansion. While questioning the tendency for automatic and singular perspectives, this exhibition expanded on the artists’ current interest in the emergence of a social, cultural and philosophical cosmic anxiety, where the astronomic, ecologic and geologic spheres can be understood as a condition of our time.
Tapestries for galaxies, 2017, Installation shot. Photography by Document Photography.
ID: A television is placed on the floor of the gallery, facing up. It shows the image of a purple circle against a black backdrop. Next to it is a cut branch of a tree, standing upright on a mat in the shape of waves. Behind the television there is a tall plinth made of for black rods holding up a square piece of wood. On the plinth there is a circular object that stands upright. Behind these objects, there is a wooden structure built in the shape of two stair cases facing each other. On the steps of the stairs, several objects are placed, some are geometric and some are more organic. On the wall behind it, the window at the back of the gallery is covered in a dark curtain with a circle cut out of the fabric. Another television leans against the wall of the gallery, showing a collage of abstract shapes and lines on a white background.
Tapestries for galaxies, 2017, Installation shot. Photography by Document Photography.
ID: Close-up shot of a velvet-lined platform that lies on the floor of the gallery. The platform is held up by cinderblocks and has multiple objects lying on top of it. There is a flat piece of bare wood, in a wavy, organic shape, with an upright triangular piece attached to it. Behind it, there is a snake-like sculpture, as well as a circular work with yellow pieces of yarn radiating out in a circle around it.
Tapestries for galaxies, 2017, Installation shot. Photography by Document Photography.
ID: A tall pole with a circular shape attached to the top stands in the gallery, amongst other obejcts. The pole has multiple ribbons attached to the top, held down on the floor by weights. The ribbons radiate outwards, creating a conical shape around the pole. In front of the pole, there is a tall triangular piece that is held in place by four bricks on the floor. The work is a flat piece of material that has been painted in a gradient of black at the bottom to white at the top. A hole is cut out in the center of the triangle. On the floor of the gallery, there is a rectangular platform with velvet fabric over it, atop which many sculptural objects are laid on. The objects are geometrical in nature and shape. Behind the pole, there is a circular object hangings from the ceiling, casting light and shadown onto the wall behind it. Two monitors are placed on the walls of the gallery, low to the ground. On the backwall, the image shows a collage of abstract shapes and lines on a white background. To the right, the video shows overlapping shapes on a black backdrop.
Tapestries for galaxies, 2017, Installation shot. Photography by Document Photography.
ID: A television is placed on the floor of the gallery, facing up. It shows the image of a purple circle against a black backdrop. Next to it is a cut branch of a tree, standing upright on a mat in the shape of waves. Behind the television there is a tall plinth made of for black rods holding up a square piece of wood. On the plinth there is a circular object that stands upright. To the right, two long striped cylinders that are bent at a 90 degree angle are attached to the wall. The cylinders have circular pieces with thin sticks radiating out of them attached to the ends. A tall pole stands in front of these objects, with ribbons hanging from the top and falling to the ground.