Want to see an artwork inspired by the smash hit Disney movie Frozen? Course you do. So head to the big spring-summer show at Prince Of Wales Road’s cavernous gallery to see snowman Olaf as both giant sculpture and on a flatscreen in a cubby hole off the main hall.
It’s a work by US artist Puppies Puppies and part of an absorbing – and sometimes dazzling – group show which focuses on the “overlaps of identity, materiality and politics”. World Receivers features two foundational artists – Cindy Sherman and Isa Genzken – alongside 14 younger voices, thereby offering a handy balance of experience and expertise.
An eclectic affair, many of these artists work simultaneously across painting, sculpture, text, sound, photography, film, and performance. And yes, it’s attention-grabbing all the way through – take Lizzie Fitch and Ryan Trecartin’s Roast Beef Curtain Drop, a sculpture of soft furnishings made human(ish); or more sculptures formed out of clothing – as haunting as headless bodies – by NYC artist Kevin Beasley in the upstairs mezzanine area.
A highlight is an immersive neon room by US artist Signe Pierce: you’ll even gawp at yourself on a screen in surprising, altered-state form. I also liked Anj Smith’s intricate paintings that combine disparate elements, and reward repeat viewing.
The back room is a must. A separate show called Stalking The Trace by artist Rachel Rossin, it’s a vast, cinematic (and again immersive) celebration of new digital technologies: expect paintings, sculptural installations and virtual reality all muddied into more than the sum of their parts. A mesmerising experience, the soundtrack hypnotic.
In fact, listen up throughout, as music selected by the artists enhances the work throughout.
So is it all about receiving? In this case: yes.
Credit: World Receivers, 2019, Installation View, Photo: Tim Bowditch
