Civilisation at Ferreira Projects

Civilisation at Ferreira Projects

22 August, 2008
by: Katuschka

Lynn Wray's first solo show Civilisation at Ferreira Projects is a petite and delicate homage to grandiose ideas and spectacular downfalls. The seed of Wray's inspiration is our leafy starting point, The Garden of Eden – the spiritual paradise to which we all try to return.

The show is divided into three clear sections: each relocates the presiding ideology to contemporary pastures to show the persistent relevance of man overreaching his grasp. The bulk of the show focuses on the unfortunate Nicolas Fouquet whose garden Vaux-le-Vicomte inspired both Versailles and a jealous rage in Louis XIV. The king threw poor Nicolas into the Bastille until his death, and he is believed to be the inspiration for The Man in the Iron Mask. Also explored are the inordinately extravagant Versailles, the self-proclaimed 'Sun King' Louis XIV, and insane Bavarian monarch Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm II.

Wray's portraits of her protagonists are carefully rendered like detailed chamber pieces in the style of the era. They reveal both sympathy and loathing for these men and their horrifying power and bloated egos. Each piece contains clues to the subject's fate: Le Squirrel Fouquet shows Fouquet obscured by streaks of paint and Ludwig Unravelled depicts the monarch with one strand of his moustache trailing down to the frame and beyond. Interspersed with images of their collective Achilles heels, they are made to appear both foolish and idealistic, the creators of enduring beauty and the purveyors of stupefying selfishness.

The second section shows new frontiers of man's triumph over nature, with gardens of moon rock and coral wrestled into an understandable and submissive form. The final section uses a photographic and textual study of the infamous Roman Esposizione (an elaborate fascist vanity project which was suddenly abandoned when the day of its opening coincided with an attack that would bring about Mussolini's fall from grace).

Wray's photographic triptych This Did Happen sticks a middle figure in the face of the blatant boasts of fascism. The vast corridors and noble, neo-classical statues of the museum are ludicrously juxtaposed with plastic cleaning materials. Balanced with the sombre triptych This Did Not Happen (which attempts to rupture images with written home truths) Wray pays tribute to those who cowered behind the grand frontage and presents a solemn omen to the viewer.

Wray is defiantly anti-stylistic and works in a range of materials. However her subjects seem belittled by a lo-fi choice of medium; aesthetically her pencil drawings on paper give the work a slightly amateur feel where canvas might have fared better. Also, if you are unfamiliar with the history behind the pieces, they may not be as effective. This is resolved by a lengthy fact sheet; but then you don't really come to an art gallery to read fact sheets

Despite its faults, this show forecasts interesting things from Wray. She has successfully portrayed a truly fascinating theme, picking through the murky remnants of history and ravelling the threads into a subtle cautionary tale. The charming and witty quirks in her work engross you in a deceptively ordinary image. The show is a slow burner: I originally considered it mediocre but the sheer genius of Wray's narrative grasp and her non-preachy comments on the reiteration of civilisation's pride have, in retrospect, really grown on me. Civilisation by itself is a powerful curio, which does not attempt to answer questions; but invites you to question a world where dominion over the natural takes precedence, where mortality is the only limit and where the dream of a garden can ultimately lead to death.

Click here to see what is currently on at Ferreira Projects.

Click here to see all London art
Click here to see all London exhibitions
Click here to see all things to do in London

Katuschka