Tonico Lemos Auad
In the accompanying leaflet it describes the current exhibition in the main gallery at the De La Warr Pavilion: "Tonico Lemos Auad makes sculptures that act as tools for processing thoughts. Often responding specifically in relation to the site and its people, Auad inspects ideas such as acts of faith, repair, resistance and endeavour to overcome adversity. Inspired by the building's close proximity to the natural elements, Auad presents a poetic and playful response to our relationship with nature in this exhibition of new and recent sculptural works. Auad creates expressive, often transient forms and the ephemeral and everyday to the precious and enduring."
The linen sculptures were reminiscent of tube bandages and macrame, quite compelling, they begged to be tugged. For a child of the 70s the exhibition gave me a pang of nostalgia, the hanging sculptures and the 2D linen works just reminded me of textiles of the time. I wasn't wowed, I liked the chalky rocks, but not the 2D linen works, but I was interested in A Moment of the Sky (2016), this piece consisted of an indoor terraced flower bed containing medicinal plants.
'This work stems from Auad's fascination with gardening and how it can activate social interactions and trigger acts of sharing, negotiation and healing...and offers a space for conversations and talks by specialists.'
I wondered if it would stay alive in the half light of the gallery, it didn't look like it was flourishing. I've considered creating living indoor sculpture, but this makes me think that it might work for a short exhibition but not for too long unless there's plenty of natural light.
I was also interested in the work Small Fires (2015) a landscape formed of tin cans, the surfaces of the cans have been scratched away leaving only the natural elements of the original designs, palm trees, animals, flowers. Described as 'scratching away the surface to isolate and reveal', I see a connection to my work, isolating elements of nature by painting over everything else in a photo.
It's always interesting when someone is using similar terminology or employing similar processes in their work, even if it's almost the reverse. I'm taking away everything other than one natural element in a photo by the addition of paint, Auad is literally taking away everything on the cans except the natural elements by scraping away paint.
Steve Farrer
There is a certain charm to Steve Farrer's New Work for Bexhill the same performer is layered onto one film to form a dance sequence. It is described as immersive, I didn't find it so, I liked it, particularly the aged appearance of the film and the vast screen on which it's shown, but I didn't sit long enough to see the arabesque sequence.