Tracy Holland’s work combines light-boxes, projections, video and actual objects. It is visually seductive, drawing the viewer closer with its clever use of colour, composition and light whilst repelling them with the nature of the objects used such as dead animals. Her subject matter has been carefully chosen to point towards meaning in oblique rather than direct ways, for example a piece of pink coral used in her series Resurrection Stories suggests the sacred heart of Christ when exhibited with images of Christ taken from 16th century paintings.
Helen Chadwick’s work is also metaphysically ambitious and mainly investigates issues surrounding the body and sexuality. According to Mark Sladen her work The Oval Court can be seen to evoke the tradition of the vanitas. The photocopies of naked bodies, animals, birds and objects laid out on the floor being suggestive of human attachment to the world and sensuality while the images of Chadwick’s weeping self portraits look down from the walls as if reminding us of the transience of earthly things. I am interested in how on first glance at Chadwick’s piece One Flesh we see a traditional ‘Madonna and Child’ and only after looking more closely do we realise how Chadwick has appropriated such familiar imagery to rewrite images of women by replacing the male Christ child with a female baby and the halo with a gold placenta. As for her Meat Abstracts I find it fascinating how use of light and context can transform objects and make even offal appear beautiful.
Bill Viola
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