Ron Mueck, Hauser & Wirth 23 Savile Row, on now until 26th May
Hauser & Wirth presents a succinct solo show by Australian artist Ron Mueck, his first in London for over a decade. Intriguingly minimalist, this exhibition focusses on four sculptural works, each the epitome of Mueck’s uncanny brand of realism. Mueck’s play with proportion and placement within the gallery space renders the familiar curiously unfamiliar. ‘Drift’ (2009) is a relatively small-scale silicone sculpture of a suntanned middle aged man in tropical print trunks lying supine on an inflatable lilo. ‘Drift’ is a peculiarly ambiguous piece, positioned high on the gallery wall, arms outstretched and seeming largely lifeless, the viewer is encouraged to contemplate whether the artist’s subject is alive or dead. Indeed there is something in its precariousness the curators suggest, that prompts reflection on the fragility of human life. Also on display is the prosaically titled ‘Woman with sticks’, a diminutive (again silicone) sculpture of a sturdily built naked woman bent back almost double under the weight of an unwieldy and disproportionately sized bundle of sticks, a situation seemingly quite fantastical, evocative even of a fairytale style narrative. In the same room is suspended from the ceiling ‘Still Life’, a grossly oversized, uncomfortably realistic looking dead chicken, plucked to reveal sallow, blemished skin, hanging from disconcertingly large, clawed feet. The animal retains its head and truncated, farcically impotent seeming wings. Mueck’s ‘Still Life’ is a clever use of double entendre relating both to the artistic genre of still life, associated historically with the depiction of fruit, flowers and fecundity, as well as to death. ‘Youth’ is Mueck’s final sculptural work on show and depicts a rather incredulous, naïve looking teenage boy wearing jeans and a white blood stained t-shirt which he lifts up, revealing a weeping wound in his side. Evidently this youth has been lucky, alive and standing to tell his tale, slit-like, however, Mueck seems to suggest, is the line between life and death. Altogether a bold if to my mind rather uninspiring show.
