Current Exhibition
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LUDOVICA GIOSCIA on TIGER ECONOMY and THE BEHEADED MONARCHS
'Tiger Economy' is a large-scale sculpture made out of Japanese screen-like structures filled with textiles and other materials. The screens are interlinked to one another through hinges and they stand on a cloud-thunder-like base.
The installation is loosely based on my fascination with Hong Kong and small islands in general. My work looks at various aspects of decadence and entertainment culture and Hong Kong has been deeply inspirational to me in the way that consumerism has shaped the local urban planning. It is a 'corridor-city' in which shopping malls dominate the centre of it and dictate how one is to navigate its route from point a to b. All activities here happen in shopping malls, whether it's visiting an art gallery or as in Dubai, skiing. Brightly lit with neon lights, the city at night reminds me of Las Vegas, which is another source of inspiration for my work: island-like in its oasis formation in the middle of the desert.
'Tiger Economy' in its absurd and obsolete design aesthetic reflects my fascination and repulsion with consumerism by making a parody of the bad taste found in the nouveau-riche looks of shopping malls found in Tiger Economy capitals. The screens are miniaturized outlines of architectures that we find in such places where futuristic skyscrapers stand proud and embody progress, their surfaces acting as information billboards (some of them have incorporated gigantic plasma screens), and reflect each other's images unto their shiny reflective skins. Thus, the black tall zigzag structure is based on Hong Kong's bank of China whilst the green and purple screens could be the tips of temples in Bangkok. The others are more generic shapes that can be found in many futuristic skyscrapers, especially on mainland China.
The choice for the cloud-like structure on which they stand is instrumental as to convey that they belong together and, as in the special ecosystems that develop in small islands where large things shrink and small things grow out of proportion, the screens have down-scaled from being buildings to being furniture. This also happens in my work where I tend to blow out of proportion accessories and shrink architectures. Accessories and architectures hence become interchangeable, pointing out at how these objects of desire shape our lives.
There are a variety of materials incorporated within the screens: organza, fake mother of pearl generally used in drum kits, acrylic and wallpapers. I have been working with wallpapers since 2004, previously showing them in installations. Some I source from East Asia during my travels while for others I've 'bootlegged' art history for images that I can consequently turn into patterns of decadence and entertainment culture. Specifically on 'Tiger Economy' there is a screen with a Lycra bootlegged Picasso and one with acrylic unto which is printed a Liechtenstein brushstroke. In Tiger Economies luxury goods are often being manufactured, alongside their counter-copy- or 'bootlegged'- versions. Some of the wallpapers used in Tiger Economy come from Hong Kong and have been used in the 80s to decorate luxury aspiring homes and hotels. The others are hand-printed by myself and contain motifs drawn from other times/places and trace a history of artifice and entertainment (e.g. Disneyland theme parks and elements taken from Baroque art and architecture).
In 2006 I began layering and tearing back down the wallpapers. Gradually the 'debris' (left over ripped off sections) became independent structures. These layered installations have literally 'collapsed' into sculptures that I hang back unto the wall with magnets. This is how the series of 'Beheaded Monarchs' (the head-like wall based sculptures that are present in the 'Tiger Economy' show) is created. Each piece is named after a decapitated Monarch/aristocrat during the French Revolution and stand as testimonies of the decadence they lived in: the images of their excesses, in particular those of Marie Antoinette, stand vivid in our imaginations as examples of early shopaholics.
Overall in my practice the use of super saturated colors, shiny surfaces and the cacophony of patterns becomes a parody of excess and creates a language that questions taste: good and/or bad; walking a fine line between desirable and obsolete design. My position as an artist is that: I am seduced by desirable objects but I also recognize their absurdity. I translate this by making a parody of the "Economy of Desire" and by questioning its sanity, by questioning its taste.
SARA TECCHIA ROMA NEW YORK is located at 529 West 20th Street, between Tenth Avenue and Eleventh Avenue. The gallery is on the second floor. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm. For more information, contact 212-741-2900, or visit www.saratecchia.com