Chloe-Rose Purcell
Strange Signal
Being Wise in a Foolish World shows a strange and unsettling last supper dinner like party. With a cast of familiar beloved childhood characters, they are no longer in a world of lullabies and lollipops but instead in an adult world full of chaos and confusion. It depicts an innocence that has turned into reality.
Get well soon, points a finger at the primitive understanding around female birth control’s negative side effects on the mental health of women. Contrasting the liberty and choice they bring, the ignored metal health and overall well being of the woman is left out. It is marked simply as a possible side effect, not taken seriously and not taken into further consideration. Are feelings and thoughts still purely authentic, or are they in-fact, synthetic based emotions produced by fabricated hormones?
The Universe of the Uterus combines the universe of PMS, abortion, birth, miscarriages, mood- swings, period pain, pregnancy, motherhood, and the politics of woman’s health. The work does not reveal a singular message but instead refers to the individual complexity of the uterus as an emotional, political, and biological force. The intense red colour rebels against the shame surrounding periods and women’s bodies, instead of something secretive, and hidden, here it is exposed, bold and present. The wolf oscillates between a symbol of protection and an evil figure of punishment. Taking up these subjects part of the composition is taken from Giovanni Bellini ́s painting “Agony in the Garden” (ca. 1459-65).
Welcome to the World is a baby holding a squeezed to death heart. It’s ironically welcoming a child into the world though it is obvious that humanity, nature, and the world, are not without pain, regret, and sadness. The heart works as a symbol for everything that is precious that can be destroyed, relationships, freedom, dreams, and hopes.
Overall the show draws together a harsh and cynical set of works that play on the axis of parody and despair.