Past Exhibitions

2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 1995 - 2000

Happy Valley: David Acheson and Lorna Mills

Curator: Corinna Ghaznavi

Happy Valley is about surface and depth. Slick and happy, the surfaces of the work smooth over the crisis beneath. Working often with pop icons and multiple images the work appears initially bright and simple, showing for instance a human scale Honey Bear jar or a group of people enjoying a picnic in the green. A cartoon-like aspect, such as the exaggerated scale of Acheson’s two figures, Present, and Mills’ glazed book covers further enlighten initial viewing. Glibness, humour and joyful recognition accompany works like Acheson’s doggy-bone photographs or Mills’ stacked paintings of cheap plastic baubles. Aesthetics and good craftsmanship enhance the visual pleasure in this exhibition. Mills’ picnic piece, Focal, is shown on two white monitors placed on a green bench; the Martha Stewart aesthetic furthering the sense of a contrived reality. Acheson’s excellently executed Zoophyte is endearing, the large scale smiley face glowing joy, yet the creature has no head and is made entirely of fruit.

A double edge is present throughout. Sustained viewing and the examination of motive reveal the depression under the seemingly smooth surface. The Honey Bear pulses red and the honey is almost gone; the picnic, shown on two monitors and shot through the bottom of a MOMA Mondrian glass is slightly teary as the remains of the water flood the images behind it; Acheson’s two large figures reveal themselves to have no orifices and to be covered in bone meal, and the pattern of Mills’ necklaces remind one of an uncomfortably leering grin.

Consciously using cultural references and a play on recognition, the artists seduce the viewer into what appears to be a playful world only to question the values of this world and realities entrenched there. The attempt to make literal sense and connections within the exhibition leads to a dead end. What one finds instead is a sense of unease, mis-information, and a troubled reading of mass culture and its implications. In a time where the flood of information continues to peak, faster and brighter is better, and the constraint of time makes it difficult to pursue anything in depth, Happy Valley, reflecting this phenomena, points to the necessity of slowing down and reflecting. How does one make sense of the world when there is no time? Mass culture and New Age pop philosophy offers easy answers that reveal only emptiness. English, Mills’ ongoing video project showing ‘every book she has ever read,’ cannot encompass the aspect of reading but instead is purely visual. Acheson’s careful examination and precise rendition of every bone in the human body, a number read both scientifically and symbolically, shows this construct to hold no meaning.

As the title indicates, joy is coupled with unease, and ease with discomfort. The viewer is free to experience joyful recognition and enjoy the clean execution and aesthetic of the works. They are also made conscious of an implosive aspect to them; of a duality regarding the comfort of familiarity on the one hand, and critique of our time and pop culture’s easy way of making sense, on the other.