Marking the 30th Curve commission at the Barbican, New Zealand born and London-based artist Francis Upritchard has created a new, site-specific installation.
Drawing from figurative sculpture, craft traditions and design, blended with references from literature and history, Upritchard pushes these practices into new directions, bringing them together to create a striking and original visual language of her own. Francis Upritchard: Wetwang Slack opened in The Curve on Thursday 27 September 2018.
Playing with scale, colour and texture, Upritchard is populating The Curve with a spectrum of different materials, vibrant figures and eclectic objects. The exhibition begins with brightly coloured polymer clay sculptures in various poses, bedecked in hand-made garments supported by plinths, leading to a series of bespoke metal and glass shelves suspended from the ceiling, displaying smaller-scale felt hats. As the exhibition unfolds the colour slowly weakens from the sculptures concluding with large figures made from balata, a wild rubber harvested in Brazil. These are inspired by the Parthenon Reliefs; creatures from science fiction novels; and the Japanese folklore characters of Ashinaga-tenaga (Long Legs and Long Arms), who extol the virtues of harmonious working relationships, coalescing into a melting pot of traditions where no dominant culture persists.