Nought to Sixty / For Patrick at Institute of Contemporary Art, (ICA), London: My solo presentation “For Patrick” occurred within the framework of the ICA’s programme, “Nought to Sixty”, and comprised of 4 new collage works displayed within a decorative scheme designed for the gallery space.

The works and exhibition explore literary connections between Medieval thought and Post-Modernism in static visual form. The key point of departure was the recognition of a sympathy between aspects of Brett Easton Ellis’s novel, “American Psycho”, and Francois Rabelais’s work “Gargantua and Pantagruel”, in particular the use of litany and the grotesque treatment of human bodies en masse. Obliquely, the collages site processes of consumption against the veneer of corporate success. Registers of density, detail and emptiness in space were counterposed between the collages (dense and patternistic) and the room in which they were displayed (hollow and controlled).

The collages, presented in period-style aluminum ‘bachelor pad’ frames, were integrated into an installation employing a period-specific interior-design treatment – the rag-rolling of walls. The installation was designed as a lobby, a space through which corporate players pass and made layered reference to aspects of the film styling of “American Psycho” (directed by Mary Harron), which employs interior design tropes and iconic contemporary artworks from the 1980s, (for example, Robert Longo’s “Men in Cities” series). The styling of other films associated with the disaffection and dislocation of the male subject in late capitalism, (such as “Wall Street”) was also important in the development of the scheme.