IKON Gallery

This week I visited Ikon Gallery, and I have to say upon first view of the programme I wasn't exactly enthused, images in a leaflet can never live up to real life. So my premature indifference quickly passed upon viewing the Pacific Tapa paintings. The early 20th century barkcloth paintings are unexpected in both size and detail with an uneven, creased surface that is both abstract and beautifully meticulous.

This was the first time I have come across barkcloth, formed from the inner bark of specific trees in the region of New Guinea. This cloth has been used for garments, rituals and in sacred spaces, often a sign of wealth. But more important than their materiality, is the way in which communities are brought together through making. Similar to other cultures, it is women who work collectively in producing the cloths, instigating social and creative expression.  

In a coinciding exhibition, Francois Morellet's paintings are a stark contrast to the previous work, but the artist was heavily influenced by the Tapa paintings. His abstract style is clean and precise, verging on optical illusion. Though it is possible to see how the patterns, repetition and shapes of the Tapa paintings have filtered their way into Morellets's work "my first love was focused on the art...of the islands of Oceania and especially Tapa from Fiji and the Solomon Islands, that contain everything that I loved and I still love: precision, rigor, geometry..." Although Francois Morellet finds his work to be "rather joyful" I personally find the paintings too clinical, too precise. The small abnormalities within the Tapa barkcloth create a sense of human presence which I think Morellet's work is void of, missing the community, collaborative spirit that Pacific paintings encapsulate. Never the less, this exhibition provides a unique opportunity to compare the two sets of paintings, bridging the gap between past and present, representing changing cultures. I know which I prefer.  

François Morellet. (quand j’étais petit je ne faisais pas grand) (d’après n°52010 “Cercles et demi-cercles”, 1952)”,(2006)
Acrylic on canvas on wood

In the reception hall is a new permanent installation by Oliver Beer. It is a simple yet highly effective piece that simultaneously distorts and clarifies the outside world, blurring the lines between inside and outside space. By bestowing an ear (or an eye) to the small, trumpet like opening, viewers can catch small observations of the square outside, hear the world passing byand even feel a cool draft as the air channels through the crystal tube.  

Oliver Beer, Outside -In (2013) Installation View

Oliver Beer, Outside-In, (2013)

Tapa Barkcolth Paintings from the Pacific and Francois Morellet exhibitions end 14th July.