Miles Collyer
Friday, 22 May 2009
There was not enough space to post his other bodies of work as well, but you should go to his website to see the wide range of solid work.
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“For Lauren is a mail-art edition that was sent to 50 individuals in February, 2006. It is a reproduction of an original letter, which was never sent. The recipients were instructed to view the edition by placing the unopened envelope in the sill of a bright window.”
“Perhaps this explains the initial and contradictory mix of puzzlement and familiarity one feels when looking at it. Multicoloured balaclavas, felt flags with Islamic script, exploding blankets, neon colour wheels . . . His choice of materials and motifs disorient one’s conditioned aesthetic response to art. The “beautiful” or “emotive” signatures of the work exist at a remove, if at all. Maybe we’re being toyed with, for at first glance his choices seem arbitrary, random, even frivolous. Individual works exist in isolation from one another, and don’t seem to add up to anything like a consistent aesthetic vision. Initially it’s difficult to see the bigger picture. But the more you gaze at his work the more arresting and uncanny it becomes. One can’t deny its consistent visual power; the eye is drawn to it again and again. And though each piece seems to operate autonomously, what does become clear with repeated viewings is the presence of a witty (in its best sense, underscoring and informing every piece), risk-taking artist with an eye for images that sear themselves in the mind, and a tactile sensitivity and receptivity that seeks and permits composition with all manner of material.” – Robert Cook for The Art Gallery of Western Australia