Review on Wall Street International by Jillian Knipe
Re-Assemble with its word splicing hyphen emphasises an expectation that the artworks will encompass configurations done, undone and re-done. Though, like many of the works in this group exhibition, there is an essential contradiction which runs through the title.
Assemble refers either to a group of people coming together which is temporary, else to the arrangement of componentry. If the latter is for a machine, there’s reasonable hope for the assembly to be more permanent, a direct opposite of the momentary mustering of citizens. The need or preference to “re” assemble then initiates the question of why. Was the original assembly broken? Obsolete? Do we have all the parts? Is this a necessity or a game?
As part of law firm Collyer Bristow’s ongoing commitment to the arts, in-house curator Rosalind Davis has assembled multiple contributions from 18 artists whose work intentionally or accidentally reconfigures its constituent parts. This isn’t just academic, it’s personal. As Rosalind’s own collaborations with fellow artist Justin Hibbs reveal, she is particularly and heavily invested in how space can be both clearly and deceivingly bordered, walled, outlined and mirrored. Their resulting work which can be seen at Arthouse1 as part of Observation Rooms, highlights possibilities, pathways and dead ends as short-lived arrangements which, despite their calculated appearance, are actually subjective compositions, susceptible to constant re-assembly….read the full article here.