Friend and artist GoodCross recently opened a gallery of his own – and my sincere apologies to him for getting to this post later than intended. For it’s inaugural exhibition, The Good Days features Immersed by Hills (Hillany Schofield).
“Immersed is an exhibition about the duality of being an insular individual in a world of contexts, interests, opinions, rules,” Hills says of the exhibit. “Whether it is the so-called ‘real life’ or this, our ‘second life’.”
Around the walls of the gallery space are nine large format monochromatic pieces depicting uniform female mannequins all striking very similar poses to one another, with the exception of one individual, who is in a strikingly different pose. In a tenth image, which adds a subtle splash of colour, the single figure of an avatar hangs in repose, floating over the floor. Finally, over the central area of the gallery, a slowly rotating box displays two monochrome and two colour images of avatars, either alone or posing before the mannequin-like figures.
The juxtaposition of individuality and living within a world of contexts is clearly expressed in each image; the individual or contrasting figures in each piece a manifestation of the former, the groupings of mannequins presenting the latter. “We find safety, community and acceptance,” Hills says of our desire to find context among peers, the similarities expressed by the mannequins, “But we also stumble, fall, feel trapped and isolated.”
“So what do we do? We break out, we question ourselves, we go back with the flow. Or we try to dance away the pain.” And thus the individual figures express these latter responses – as do visitors to Immersed. To enter the exhibition space, we must walk between the mannequins, becoming the expression of the individual in their world of contexts, opinions and rules.
Immersed will remain at The Good Days through most of March, with GoodCross planning to hold monthly exhibits in the gallery.
SLurl Details
- The Good Days (Rated: moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 