Time in our capital is a funny thing - such a precious commodity that we
never feel we have enough of it and constantly terrified someone or something
will take what we do have away from us. With so much emphasis on rushing it’s
all too easy for the world, in all its glorious detail to fly by in the blink
of an eye. We don’t sweat the small stuff because we don’t see it. Who did you
sit next to on the train this morning? What trousers were they wearing? Did
they seem happy?
Most of us have only a hazy recollection of the people
we encounter throughout our days, and as for those in the background – they may
as well not exist.
The antidote to our modern lifestyle, if
you can make time, is visit Duane Hanson’s show at the Sackler Gallery. It’s a celebration of the
ordinary – in exquisite detail. A cowboy stands nonchalantly near the entrance, waiting for you to greet him as you
go past, lost in his own thoughts and possibly down on his luck. A lady we assume to be a cleaner in her uniform pushes her trolley, also trance-like and lost in her own thoughts. Does she have anyone
to go home to? Where is home? Does she love or hate her job? Elsewhere a lady sits among a pile of
objects for sale, absorbed in her book yet also desperately hoping to do business.
It’s almost impossible not to become absorbed
with the figures in Hanson’s exhibition. Hyperreal in their form, Hanson intended that his
meticulously detailed figures would transfix the viewer, drawing
them in to be
captivated by the detail of the sculptures. His subjects, modelled on real
people, tend to exist on the fringes of society, easily ignored and frequently
passed over in real life. It’s bittersweet testament
to his talent that Hanson has succeeded in making the mundane fascinating and the everyday detail of lives
extraordinary.
More surprising still is the age of some of the sculptures.
Hanson’s ‘Homeless Person’ created 24 years ago in 1991 is as relevant today as it was then. Hanson’s work has always been intended to
reveal the brutal truths about Western society. Spurred on by the criticism he
received for Trash, his
figures have become the mouthpiece for Hanson’s own social and political views,
featuring scenes of social misery and violence. It was only later on that
Hanson focused his attention on everyday people, an entire class of ‘typical’
people who he believed ‘did not stand out’.
Serpentine
Sackler Gallery, Hyde Park
Tuesday August 11th 2015 - Sunday September 13th 2015
Footnote:
The Sackler is one of the many London galleries that benefit
from the support of generous patrons who happily give their time and resources
to ensure the arts continue to thrive in the capital. Figures such as Ian Taylor, Yassmin Ghandehari, Sasan Ghandehari, Lance Uggla, Viktor Vekelsberg, Sir David Verey, CBE and
Anita Zabludowicz.
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