20 April - 19 May 2012
Lucy Skaer
Force Justify (Part 1)
Force Justify is the second incarnation of a traveling installation. Based on the allegory of the Ship of Fools, the work is transported and adapted to each space in which it is exhibited. The work gathers specific forms and attributes depending on the space, while other aspects lapse in to nonsense.
Installation view, Tulips & Roses, Brussels
The Good Ship Blank and Ballast, 2010-2012
Woodcut (433 x 276 cm)
The Good Ship Blank and Ballast, 2010-2012
Detail
This image of A Ship of Fools comes from a frontispiece of a 16th century book Das Narrenschiff - an allegory depicting a vessel carrying voyagers who are deranged, frivolous, or oblivious, aboard a ship without a pilot and seemingly ignorant of their own direction. They are in search of Narragonia, a fool's utopia. This image, initially downloaded from the internet, was carved into the floor of K21, a museum in Düsseldorf. It was subsequently removed and rearranged after being exhibited there.
The Good Ship Blank and Ballast (Force Justify 1), 2012
Woodcut Print on Paper (433 x 276 cm)
The Good Ship Blank and Ballast (Force Justify 1), 2012
Detail
A print made from the floor, in its new scrambled formation.
The Good Ship Blank and Ballast, 2010-2012
18 Aluminum Sculptures (Dimensions variable)
The Good Ship Blank and Ballast, 2010-2012
Detail
The sculptures were made out of 98 aluminium copies of Brancusi's Newborn sculpture. These copies were melted down and recast to fit the ornament of the gallery's floor. The notion of 'ballast' implies something that is shaped entirely by its function - simply being dumb weight - without any necessity of representational qualities.
If you want to see some pictures of the previous incarnation of the installation at K21 museum in Düsseldorf - click here