Today I visited the Ibid Gallery on Margret Street for an
exhibition of paintings by Jack McConville titled ‘Capital Depths’.
McConville’s work is a fusion of figurative and abstract,
the playful and the potent and infuses modern digital themes with an
appreciation of art history.
The collection explores capitalism, power, greed and the
structures within our culture. It felt highly relevant for the new pathway I am
taking in response to the brief.
Economic phrases like ‘liquidation’ ‘cash flows’ and ‘making
it rain’ were shown in painting. One exhibit depicted two nude women, a direct
reference to historical art, clambering for dollar bills floating in the wind.
The image conveyed to me the futile nature of our search for wealth- I believe
the structures of society keep excess wealth very much for the wealthy and the
wealthy only. The women had oversized figures and folding rolls of fat; this
made me think of the overconsumption of our times and the effective
indoctrination for consumerism both for the food industry and across the board,
we all undergo.
Another image showed purple figures sifting through what
appeared to me to be golden coins. The image presented questions on worth; the
ever-fluctuating value of gold could plummet and I felt as if in this image the
coins were worthless and that the women were searching through them for
something better and more valuable. The two figures were to me perhaps too the
wealthy elite, who although drowning in golden coins and riches are constantly
searching for more.
The collection brought to mind interesting sub themes to the notion of ‘structures within our society’. Corruption, money laundering and the dollar bill are all lasting concepts and images that can be explored.
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| Jack McConville at The Ibid Gallery |
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| Jack McConville at The Ibid Gallery |
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