Anya Gallaccio: Creation/destruction, The Holden Gallery, Manchester 12 April - 23 May 2013

Often, creation and destruction are taken as polar opposites, elemental forces which are permanently in conflict. Rather than following this line of division between the two, the exhibition looks to examine more imaginative approaches, the ways in which creation and destruction might merge and cross over. The process of making something new can be as much about removal as it is about production - the ways in which ideas, images and perceptions have to be cleared away before anything useful can begin.

 

The works in the exhibition explore different aspects of the relationship between creation and destruction; they establish a thread between the two forces in order to produce something new. The very different approaches of each of the artists (using film, photography and sculpture) lead the spectator towards a more complex and nuanced view. The experience is designed to set a more fruitful dialogue between creation and destruction.

 

Anya Gallaccio explores the connections between decay, temporality and aesthetics. Preserve (Chateau) consists of 100 Gerberas which will slowly decay during the course of the exhibition, a paradox of the familiar creative process. The existence of Red and Green originates from the destruction of an earlier work, Red on Green, an installation of 10,000 roses laid on the gallery floor and left to decay.

 

Mark Lewis' film North Circular uses a single take to explore the ruins of a modernist office building in London; inside three boys play amidst chaotic remains. This representation of an abandoned building reflects on aspects of time and space and the subject evokes a sense of decay and ruination.

 

Rut Blees Luxemburg has produced a number of projects each of which investigate the significance of the modern project on the city. The works in the exhibition explore themes of destruction, decay, and erosion through a contrasting range of objects, materials and locations.

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