Cable guy
British artist Mat Chivers integrates marble sculptures, soundscapes and Japanese bondage into a cohesive and impactful exhibition
'Harmonic Distortion' at London gallery PM/AM touches upon themes Chivers has been preoccupied with throughout his career. Namely, the relationship between analogue and digital medias, and the merging of ancient and futuristic fabrication methods. But this exhibition introduces a new, performative accent to Chivers' creative repetoire. 'Harmonic Distortion' centres around a dance duet inspired by the Japanese art of shibari, a ritualised, theatrical form of erotic bondage in which a power exchange is enacted between the person being bound and the one doing the binding. Employing his signature contemporary twist, Chivers has replaced traditional ropes with fibre optic cabling (the kind used to transmit information by global digital networks) in a metaphor that comments on our increasing entanglement with digital data, which at once strangles us and offers us creative freedoms.
The static elements of the exhibition are also concerned with data communication. The monochrome sculptures, for example, which are scattered around the gallery like cast die, draw upon a data set donated by research scientists, on the physics of wave and cloud formations. These variations have been sketched out into graphs, and then robotically milled into the contrasting black and white marbles, creating a powerful, phsyical representation of an otherwise 'unemotional' string of numbers and figures. Through each disperate element of the exhibition (which also includes wall-based works and a sound installation from renowned producer Moiré) Chivers uses art to decode our relationship with the world; making profound statements about the fragility of the environment, and humanity in general. Until 28 February.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Harriet Lloyd-Smith was the Arts Editor of Wallpaper*, responsible for the art pages across digital and print, including profiles, exhibition reviews, and contemporary art collaborations. She started at Wallpaper* in 2017 and has written for leading contemporary art publications, auction houses and arts charities, and lectured on review writing and art journalism. When she’s not writing about art, she’s making her own.
-
ICON 4x4 goes EV, giving their classic Bronco-based restomod an electric twist
The EV Bronco is ICON 4x4’s first foray into electrifying its range of bespoke vintage off-roaders and SUVs
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
‘Dressed to Impress’ captures the vivid world of everyday fashion in the 1950s and 1960s
A new photography book from The Anonymous Project showcases its subjects when they’re dressed for best, posing for events and celebrations unknown
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Inside Camperlab’s Harry Nuriev-designed Paris store, a dramatic exercise in contrast
The Crosby Studios founder tells Wallpaper* the story behind his new store design for Mallorcan shoe brand Camperlab, which centres on an interplay between ‘crushed concrete’ and gleaming industrial design
By Jack Moss Published