we live in, so the song goes… It went through my head as I read this caption upon entering Paul Matosic’s exhibition of The Ruins Of The Ancient City Of Phibonak. Paul, Nottingham-based, has been working solidly for over thirty years in the city but I’m fairly sure this must be one of the biggest outings he’s had..or at least that I know of. If so it’s good to see him given the space to stretch out and put together a show that properly demonstrates his creativity. I’ve known his assemblages but had little idea of the wider range of works on paper, print and sculpture. Nor had I any inkling of the witty conceptual framework behind this show. Whilst there’s inevitably a nod towards Hirst’s Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable, this show has none of the overblown pomposity of the former but rather exhibits a lighter touch, and makes valuable points, both politically and socially, rather than being a showroom full of expensive knick knacks for the Oligarch’s (sadly I think they’ll be back soon enough). In the widest context that phrase at top of this post accompanying the four works alongside it (shown below) is very prescient of our current times
What Matosic has done is marry together fairly humble materials with some strong visual works wrapped up in the conceit he has created. In doing so he points up much of the most vulgar aspects of contemporary Fine Art culture and in the nicest way sticks two fingers up at them.
There’s also a sly nod in the direction of the archaeological community with its obsessive annotations, assumptions and assessments of the objects it unearths and pronounces upon. But none of these things is done cruelly, rather more with a wink and a grin, that ought to bring a smile to both the diggers and daubers.
The idea allows Paul to riff off of a variety of stylistic variations, I loved the contrasts between the Frieze above and the cold grey of The Bunkers and I found myself really enjoying the free standing sculptural works. Overall as a whole the way in which the show stood up as a contemporary work and as a humorous and thoughtful caprice is a tribute to an artist who has doggedly pursued his career over several decades. Get to see it before it closes on May 1st. And full marks to the curatorial team at Lakeside (superbly led by Neil Walker) for bringing this exhibition in to accompany the equally impressive Ancient Iraq show next door.
cloughieseyes 