"

8uLh 8osengarLen
!"#$"#% !'(()*+ ,'#")- ."-/)*01 !"# "# "(1 23#()453*'*6 23#()7(

lL ls always lnLeresLlng Lo plnpolnL Lhe momenL when one becomes consclous of a change of
mood or orlenLaLlon ln conLemporary arLlsLlc pracLlces. ln Lhe mldsL of so many arLlculaLlons
of Lhe lnLerconnecLedness of arL and archlLecLure or arL and acLlvlsm, of Lhe maLerlal and
concepLual repercusslons of phoLography movlng from an age of Lechnologlcal Lo one of
dlglLal reproducLlon, of Lhe llnks beLween lndlvldual and collecLlve pracLlce, wlLh all Lhe
aLLendanL [argon of 'global connecLlvlLy' and 'mulLlmedla plaLforms' afforded by Lhe
seducLlve ublqulLy of Lhe lnLerneL, someLhlng has emerged LhaL offers qulLe a dlfferenL Lonlc.
1hls 'someLhlng' mlghL be Lermed 'mlndful maLLer': lL ls maLerlallsm wlLh a LwlsL, or wlLh a
new LwlsL.
Larly ln Lhe LwenLleLh cenLury, Cerman arL hlsLorlans were dlscusslng vlsual arL ln Lerms of a
sweep LhaL ranged from opLlc Lo hapLlc responses: poles of percepLlon LhaL address slghL and
Louch respecLlvely, buL ln a raLher absLracL fashlon. 8uL Lhe new maLerlallsm ls anyLhlng buL
absLracL. lL ls synLheLlc, lnvlLlng Lhe convergence of forms of address LhaL would prevlously
have been consldered opposlLlonal. lL Laps readlly lnLo a sLrand of conLemporary
phllosophlcal Lhlnklng LhaL alms Lo dlssolve Lhe onLologlcal dlsLlncLlon beLween organlc and
lnorganlc, beLween Lhe vlLally !"#$% and Lhe lnanlmaLe &!'%() lnvoklng a nleLzchean
conflaLlon of soul, mlnd or ego wlLh Lhe maLerlal body, lL has varlously, and someLlmes
conLenLlously, aLLracLed Lo lLself labels such as 'posLhumanlsm' (uonna Paraway) and
'vlbranL maLLer' (!ane 8enneLL). ln Lhe wake of advances ln Lhe naLural sclences and
Lechnology, and prompLed by changlng concepLlons of maLerlal causallLy, phllosophers and
LheorlsLs of culLure and sclence allke have begun Lo explore Lhe llmlLs of human agency, ln
parLlcular ln human lnLeracLlon wlLh - or explolLaLlon of - naLure (Lransformed from 'vlrgln'
Lo always-already acculLuraLed). 1he separaLlon of mlnd from maLLer, or human raLlonallLy
from chaoLlc naLure, was hyperbollsed ln uescarLes' noLlon of Lhe *+('&+, flgured as radlcally
separaLe from Lhe corporeal subsLance of Lhe maLerlal world. lor uescarLes, 'l Lhlnk' sLood ln
opposlLlon noL only Lo 'l am,' buL also Lo 'lL ls.' 8uL Lhe eLhos of Lhe new maLerlallsm ls anLl-
CarLeslan ln lLs eradlcaLlon of Lhls duallsm, preferrlng lnsLead a 'monologlcal accounL of
#
emergenL, generaLlve maLerlal belng, '
1
explorlng Lhe characLerlsLlc shape of human
embodlmenL ln relaLlon Lo a percepLual fleld LhaL ls always slLuaLed ln relaLlon Lo LhaL
parLlcular body (#, body). lrom Lhls embodled polnL of vlew, Lhe world ls always #, world.
Pad Lhey consplred Lo do so, exhlblLlng lnsLlLuLlons ln London could noL have come up wlLh a
wlder array of shows LhaL explore Lhe relaLlon beLween LacLlllLy and vlsuallLy, and LhaL so
varlously probe maLerlallLy, noL as bruLe -&".., buL as embodlmenL, where slghL, Louch,
movemenL, affecL and language converge, also brlnglng ln Lhelr wake a range of poLenLlal
affecLlve responses on a compass beLween revulslon and dellghL. Marlsa Merz aL Lhe
SerpenLlne Callery (28 SepLember - 10 november 2013), LouLed as 'Lhe only female arLlsL
afflllaLed Lo Lhe radlcal 1960s arL movemenL, ArLe overa,' won Lhe Colden Llon Award for
LlfeLlme AchlevemenL aL Lhe 2013 venlce 8lennale.

She shows work LhaL cuLs across dlsLlncL medla such as palnLlng and sculpLure, and LhaL
eschews Lhe classlcal modernlsL dlsLlncLlon beLween flguraLlon and absLracLlon, whlmslcally
and ldlosyncraLlcally lnvlLlng boLh vlsual and LacLlle assoclaLlons. AL Lhe Payward Callery, a
reLrospecLlve of Cuban arLlsL Ana MendleLa (/0$*1-, Payward Callery, 24 SepLember - 13
uecember 2013) brlngs Lo llghL noL only her famous 2'3"1&$-, buL also some lesser known
works and pracLlces, always ephemeral and poeLlc, LhaL prlvllege Lhe body's acLlon upon, ln
and wlLh landscape and maLLer, heavlly charged wlLh symbollc and rlLual lnLenL.
1he WhlLechapel Callery (2'&"$&'+% 56-+3"&1 71$*! 8$% 9"6631: ; CcLober - 13 uecember
2013) dlsgorges Sarah Lucas's obsesslon wlLh sexual organs and aLLrlbuLes as eroLlclsed,

1
ulana Coole and SamanLha lrosL (eds.), 'lnLroduclng Lhe new MaLerlallsms,' ln <1= 8$&10'$3'-#-> ?%&+3+(,:
5(1%*,: $%@ A+3'&'*-, uuke unlverslLy ress, uurham and London, 2010, (locaLlon 112 ln Lhe ebook).
$
fanclful and someLlmes repellenL parL ob[ecLs. uslng food, fabrlc, sLocklngs, found ob[ecLs,
phoLography, and more LradlLlonal arL maLerlals llke bronze and plasLer, Lucas hllarlously and
unseLLllngly lnvokes an ldea of human sexuallLy as polymorphous and hermaphrodlLlc.
LxploraLory and ldlosyncraLlc, her works noL only lnvlLe a LacLlle response, buL also dlsplay a
consummaLe feel for maLerlals.

A dlfferenL klnd of address Lo maLerlals and Lhe senses and a dlfferenL klnd of heLerogenelLy
of pracLlce ls explored ln Lhe flrsL ma[or solo exhlblLlon ln Lhe uk of young Colomblan arLlsL,
Cscar Murlllo's ( SouLh London Callery, 20 SepLember - 1 uecember 2013). Murlllo, whose
work has already generaLed greaL hype, has empLled hls sLudlo lnLo Lhe maln gallery space.

%
1he LradlLlonal paraphernalla of Lhe arLlsL's sLudlo, LogeLher wlLh Lhe maLerlal vesLlges of
speclflc soclal slLuaLlons, are processed, reprocessed, LranslaLed and Lransformed. 1he
arLefacLs of culLure are dlsmanLled and mashed Lo re-emerge as new form, generaLlng new
pracLlce. 1he exhlblLlon seems Lo be noL so much a desLlnaLlon as a sLaLlon ln Lhe ongolng
processlng of culLure ln culLure.
And flnally, young ArgenLlne arLlsL Adrlan vlllar 8o[as, whose career has already been
meLeorlc (he has shown aL MCMA S1 ln new ?ork, aL Lhe laLesL venlce 8lennale and Lhe
laLesL uocumenLa), has lnauguraLed Lhe new SerpenLlne Sackler Callery wlLh /+@$, B1
916++& &!1 A3$%1& (28 SepLember - 10 november 2013), a monumenLal lnsLallaLlon deallng
wlLh a posL-anLhropocene vlslon of symbloLlc planL and anlmal llfe on our planeL, where all
forms of culLure are levelled. Worklng ln uLoplan fashlon wlLh a large Leam of collaboraLors Lo
whlch he refers as a 'socleLy,' Lhe arLlsL has creaLed pleces ouL of mud, clay and brlck,
drawlng LogeLher ecologlcal, envlronmenLal and pollLlcal concerns wlLh sclence flcLlon,
quanLum mechanlcs and popular culLure.

&
Somewhere beLween workshop, laboraLory, dug-ouL and nuclear shelLer, a clay-walled space
conLalns some 2000 ob[ecLs, a huge varleLy of sculpLed and organlc elemenLs. 1hls panoply
suggesLs a hypoLheLlcal scenarlo, a posL-apocalypLlc Llme when our knowledge and Lhe
lnsLlLuLlons ln whlch we deposlL our bellefs no longer mean anyLhlng. Mlchelangelo's uavld,
Loy klLLens, pleces of soap, vegeLable maLLer, and Lhe fosslllsed body of kurL Cobaln: Lhe
whole planeL, Lhe arLlsL suggesLs, mlghL be a readymade, composLable lnLo new
conflguraLlons ln some unknown fuLure.

Alludlng always Lo anoLher slLe of producLlon (a LradlLlonal brlckworks ln 8osarlo, ArgenLlna),
Lhls exhlblLlon represenLs an enormous and LheaLrlcal gesLure ln Lhe face of Lhe purely
concepLual or vlrLual. 1he work collldes wlLh Lhe aesLheLlcs of prlmlLlvlsm, bruLallsm and Lhe
archlve (Lo all of whlch lL appears Lo allude) on Lhe one hand, and posL-producLlon processes
/ screen Lechnologles on Lhe oLher, eschewlng boLh Lhe whlLe cube and Lhe black box. 1he
glganLlc, sLralnlng, crumbllng elephanL wedged agalnsL a beam, squashed lnLo a hearLrendlng,
persecuLed, 'downward dog' poslLlon, offers a frankly Lender vlew of lLs masslve derrlere.
1hls beasL sLarLllngly con[ures conLemporary concerns, bundled lnLo - or emerglng from -
abundanL, heavlng, embodled presence.
As ln Lhe work of Adrlan vlllar 8o[as, 'maLLer' ln Lhe work of London-based arLlsL uanlel Sllver
comes frelghLed wlLh concepLs. 8uL whlle Lhe prlor lnvokes Lhe lnLersecLlng worlds of
ecology, labour and geo-pollLlcs, Sllver explores Lhe encounLer of arLlsLlc pracLlce (more
speclflcally, of sculpLural pracLlce) wlLh archaeology, llLerally maLerlallslng - glvlng body Lo -
'
lreud's use of archaeologlcal meLaphors Lo descrlbe Lhe worklngs of Lhe psyche and of
memory.
Cn CrafLon Way, close Lo 1oLLenham CourL 8oad, a ploL of undeveloped land now belonglng
Lo unlverslLy College London PosplLal was once Lhe slLe of an Cdeon Clnema. unusually for a
prlme plece of London real esLaLe, lL ls abandoned and dlsused, and l doubL wheLher many
would unlnLenLlonally have come upon lL as Lhe locaLlon of Lhe laLesL pro[ecL funded by
ArLangel, a London-based organlsaLlon LhaL has commlssloned and produced a range of
noLable, lndeed 'landmark' slLe-speclflc lnsLallaLlons, as well as some pro[ecLs for fllm, radlo
and Lhe lnLerneL. 8achel WhlLeread, llya kabakov, SLeve McCueen, 8rlan Lno and Laurle
Anderson, Mlchael Landy, kuLlug ALaman, lrancls Alys, !aneL Cardlff, Susan hllllpz, 8oger
Plorns and Cllo 8arnard are among Lhe many beneflclarles of Lhls far-reachlng pro[ecL.
8uL say you dld sLumble upon uanlel Sllver's C'( (12 SepLember - 3 november 2013) as lf
comlng upon Lhe slLe of an archaeologlcal excavaLlon ln Lhe mldsL of Lhls busLllng clLy.

?ou flnd yourself walklng along a rlckeLy boardwalk lnLo Lhe Lenebrous, echo-fllled, cold,
dlslnLegraLlng remalns of a bulldlng, wlLh lLs eroded and broken walls, lLs sLagnaLlng puddles
of raln waLer and lLs cavernous underground level, lLs now open spaces all lmparLlng Lhe
evocaLlve maglc of an urban ruln. Arrayed on LresLle Lables and on Lhe floor ln famllles -
(
ob[ecLs grouped LogeLher accordlng Lo Lhelr slmllarlLles - are pleces LhaL appear Lo be
fragmenLs, worn and broken parLs of anclenL arLefacLs. 1he flrsL pleces you come upon as you
enLer Lhe room are Lhe mosL fragmenLary and are covered ln mud, as lf newly unearLhed and
noL yeL processed. As you proceed Lhrough Lhe space, you are faced wlLh more compleLe,
almosL ldenLlflable ob[ecLs. ln varlous shades of whlLe, Lhese brlng Lo Lhe lnsLallaLlon all Lhe
layered arL-hlsLorlcal connoLaLlons of LhaL colour, lLs lmmerslon ln Lhe hlsLory of bone,
marble, porcelaln.

uanlel Sllver has alluded Lo growlng up ln !erusalem, a clLy under repeaLed excavaLlon, as well
as Lo Lhe Llme he spenL ln LhaL oLher archeLypal slLe of excavaLlon, 8ome, whlch for lreud (as
for many oLhers) was Lhe 'LLernal ClLy', paradlgmaLlc ln Lhe layers of LemporallLles lL
conLalned. ln D'E'3'F$&'+% $%@ '&- C'-*+%&1%&-, lreud speaks of Lhe remalns of anclenL 8ome
'doveLalled lnLo Lhe [umble of a greaL meLropolls,' exlsLlng ln Lhe soll 'beneaLh lLs modern
bulldlngs'. Pe noLes LhaL Lhls lmbrlcaLlon of dlfferenL perlods exempllfles 'Lhe manner ln
whlch Lhe pasL ls preserved ln hlsLorlcal slLes'. 1he clLy of 8ome, Lhen, maLerlally manlfesLs
Lhe ways ln whlch 'whaL ls pasL ln menLal llfe may be preserved and ls noL necessarlly erased'.
ln Sllver's C'(, Lhe alluslon Lo lreud's 8ome, and Lherefore Lo dlgglng down lnLo Lhe
unconsclous, ls melded lnLo Lhe alluslon Lo lreud's London, for Lhe arLlsL lnvokes Lhe famous
collecLlon of archaeologlcal arLefacLs LhaL lreud kepL ln hls consulLlng rooms ln PampsLead.
)
CfLen bearded (llke lreud hlmself), made of marble, clay and plasLer, Lhe LruncaLed or
lncompleLe sLandlng and lylng flgures hlnL aL garden gnomes, anclenL gods, myLhologlcal
hybrlds, Loys represenLlng allens or muLanLs brldglng Lhe gap beLween Lhe femlnlne and Lhe
mascullne, Lhe anlmaLe and Lhe lnanlmaLe. 1hls ls noL so much Adrlan vlllar 8o[as's posL-
apocalypLlc world, as a pro[ecLlons and maLerlallsaLlons of some lnner sLaLe. 1hey are sLrange
and unseLLllng ob[ecLs of phobla or deslre. Whlle we mlghL be LempLed Lo lnvoke lreud's ldea
of Lhe uncanny here, wlLh lLs speclflc alluslon Lo Lhe ways ln whlch Lhe anlmaLe and Lhe
lnanlmaLe lnhablL each oLher, ln facL Lhese works do noL seem Lo provoke LhaL shudder LhaL
lreud referred Lo as Lhe "%!1'#3'*!, Lhe un-homely feellng of Lhe sLrangely famlllar, slnce Lhls
conflaLlon seems Lo have already happened long ago, raLher Lhan belng glven Lo vlew (as lf)
for Lhe flrsL Llme. 1hls dlsLanclng may occur because of Lhe sLrong alluslon ln Sllver's work noL
only Lo sLone and bone (Lhe sLuff of archaeology), buL also Lo maLerlals LradlLlonally llnked
wlLh sculpLural pracLlce and Lhe ways ln whlch Lhese connoLaLlons are harnessed and
explolLed, suggesLlng someLhlng already enLlrely medlaLed.

1hese flgures also brldge anoLher gap - beLween Lhe sLaLus of an ob[ecL as orlglnal and
handmade on Lhe one hand, and as Lhe ouLcome of a process of mass producLlon on Lhe
oLher. llnger marks lefL ln clay or pressed lnLo drylng plasLer erode Lhe flgures' descrlpLlve
and referenLlal capablllLy (someLlmes a whole face ls erased by repeaLed [abs), and suggesL
*
Lhe orlgln of Lhese flgures ln manual processes. neverLheless, Lhe slmllarlLy and
repeLlLlveness of Lhe flgures Lhemselves, wlLhln each 'famlly' group, and Lhe vlslble marks of
rldges remalnlng afLer Lhe removal of Lhe plasLer mould (where ln LradlLlonal sculpLural
pracLlce, Lhls Lrace of Lhe maklng process would be sanded down) send conLradlcLory
messages. lor Lhey allude slmulLaneously Lo Lhe serlal producLlon of cheap Loys on Lhe one
hand, and on Lhe oLher hand - as ln Cscar Murlllo's lnsLallaLlon - Lo Lhe processes whereby
an arLlsL Lransforms maLLer lnLo arL work ln Lhe sLudlo.

8lckeLy sLeps lead one down Lo a lower level, a klnd of basemenL, and here, solemn, larger-
Lhan-llfe bearded heads occupylng Lall pllnLhs sLand ln bracklsh pools of waLer. 1he
aLmosphere ls desolaLe and funereal. AL Lhe boLLom end, posslbly lllumlnaLed by Lhe
auLumnal sun, sLandlng upon a pllnLh ls a busL of lreud, apparenLly ln marble, buL wlLh lLs
feaLures lmpreclse, worn down as lf made of wax or lce cream, buL also remlnlscenL of Lhe
Lhe fooL of Lhe sculpLure SL eLer ln 8ome, smooLhed by havlng been so frequenLly Louched.
ln Lhls way Loo, by belng so eerlly smooLhed over, Lhe head ellclLs a hapLlc response.
nearby, upon a dlvan (more Le Corbusler Lhan lreud) lles lreud hlmself ln sLaLe, under a plle
of morphlng heads LhaL allude Lo Lhe flgures ln Lhe room above, buL LhaL also mlne a rlch
sculpLural seam, from ulana of Lphesus Lo Lhe fragmenLed and mulLl-breasLed/phalllc flgures
of Loulse 8ourgeols, or Sarah Lucas for LhaL maLLer. 1hls hlghly charged, evocaLlve form (or
mulLlpllclLy of forms) slmulLaneously suggesLlng deaLh and polymorphous eroLlclsm, ls
"+
granLed sculpLural coherence by Lhe use of plasLer as a blndlng and unlfylng maLerlal,
Lransformed from dellquescenL Lo franglble.

WheLher smooLh or rough, Lhe producL of subLracLlve processes llke chlselllng or of addlLlve
processes llke modelllng clay and Lhen uslng plasLer moulds, uanlel Sllver's flgures bear Lhe
Lraces of facLure, Lhe slgns of how Lhey were made. Such slgns conLradlcL Lhe apparenL
'foundness' of Lhe ob[ecLs, consLanLly remlndlng us LhaL Lhe whole premlse of Lhe work's
sLaglng ls faked, flcLlon. 1hese are Lhe opposlLe of +6G1&- &0+"EH-. Llke oLher pracLlces l have
menLloned here - ln parLlcular LhaL of Cscar Murlllo and Adrlan vlllar 8o[as - Lhese works
declare Lhe procedures LhaL broughL Lhem lnLo belng, and ln Lhelr resLless, vlLal physlcallLy,
Lhey refuse Lo coalesce or cohere lnLo slngular forms wlLh monollLhlc meanlngs. lf Lhey are
lmposlng, Lhey are also lndeLermlnaLe and lncompleLe, apparenLly always ln Lhe mldsL of
becomlng. ln LrlangulaLlng archaeologlcal excavaLlon, psychoanalyLlc LransacLlon and Lhe
labour of Lhe arLlsL (hlmself), uanlel Sllver suggesLs LhaL Lhe naLure of Lhe 'dlg' ls as much
psychlc as maLerlal, LhaL Lhe psychlc and Lhe maLerlal are noL so much lnLerdependenL as
aspecLs of Lhe same Lhlng.

8uLh 8osengarLen, 2013. ubllshed ln londongrlp.co.uk ln november 2013.
All clLaLlons musL quoLe Lhe orlglnal publlcaLlon, from hLLp://londongrlp.co.uk/?p=9081