A Burial Party (and Slideshow)
APRIL 13, 2011 TAGS:
For those who think funerals should be festive occasions -- celebrations of life rather than sad events that mark death -- artist Vadis Turner’s new installation at Lyons Weir Gallery in Manhattan should be a welcome take on how we say goodbye.
“Burial Party” consists of a series of wall hangings made of colorful, resplendent ribbons and a central sculpture of a horizontal human form wrapped in red satin strips, draped with white artificial flowers and suspended by white and blue party balloons. There’s buoyancy to the installation, but it also turns the attention of the viewer to the very materials used to convey the solemnity of a death ritual.
By dumping mahogany, marble, lace, brass or stone – the textures of a funeral home – Turner proposes an alternative material vocabulary of death. Ultimately, Turner seems to suggest, decay and oblivion lurk beneath even the most beautiful funerary decorations.
[VIEW SLIDESHOW]
Over the last decade, Turner has gained recognition for her textile and object-based installations and sculpture. Often her work attempts to subvert the conventional expectations of significant life events by playing mix and match with unexpected and evocative materials. Her 2009 installation, “Vanity: My Beautiful Education” presented a series of dexterously crafted sculptures that chastised classical femininity: fake eyelashes, fingernails and cuticle scissors made from college diplomas are arranged upon a mirrored platter on a white wood vanity. Other works include a wax paper lingerie set, a multi-tiered wedding cake fashioned from pristine white tampons and a rolling pin wrapped in a garter belt.
Focusing on the funeral, Turner pairs “elements of ceremonial adornment…with processes of decay.” That tension guides Turner’s new work. As does the feeling that all the trappings of funerals are a bit ridiculous to begin with. So why not have some brightly colored sumptuous ribbony fun with it?
Turner's "Burial Party" will be on view at Lyons Weir Gallery (542 W. 24th St., New York, NY) until May 7, 2011.
(Photo courtesy of Lyons Weir Gallery, New York)
“Burial Party” consists of a series of wall hangings made of colorful, resplendent ribbons and a central sculpture of a horizontal human form wrapped in red satin strips, draped with white artificial flowers and suspended by white and blue party balloons. There’s buoyancy to the installation, but it also turns the attention of the viewer to the very materials used to convey the solemnity of a death ritual.
By dumping mahogany, marble, lace, brass or stone – the textures of a funeral home – Turner proposes an alternative material vocabulary of death. Ultimately, Turner seems to suggest, decay and oblivion lurk beneath even the most beautiful funerary decorations.[VIEW SLIDESHOW]
Over the last decade, Turner has gained recognition for her textile and object-based installations and sculpture. Often her work attempts to subvert the conventional expectations of significant life events by playing mix and match with unexpected and evocative materials. Her 2009 installation, “Vanity: My Beautiful Education” presented a series of dexterously crafted sculptures that chastised classical femininity: fake eyelashes, fingernails and cuticle scissors made from college diplomas are arranged upon a mirrored platter on a white wood vanity. Other works include a wax paper lingerie set, a multi-tiered wedding cake fashioned from pristine white tampons and a rolling pin wrapped in a garter belt.
Focusing on the funeral, Turner pairs “elements of ceremonial adornment…with processes of decay.” That tension guides Turner’s new work. As does the feeling that all the trappings of funerals are a bit ridiculous to begin with. So why not have some brightly colored sumptuous ribbony fun with it?
Turner's "Burial Party" will be on view at Lyons Weir Gallery (542 W. 24th St., New York, NY) until May 7, 2011.
(Photo courtesy of Lyons Weir Gallery, New York)
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