JONATHAN MONK – I ♥ 1984
2014-11-24Jonathan Monk revisits narratives drawn from his own biography and transforms historical works by artists that have also proved to be personal, formative influences. A new wall-hung assemblage of stitched-together souvenir tea towels, entitled My Life Within the Lives of Others II (2014), marks every year and indeed every day since his birth so far, with 46 anachronistic cloth calendars showing different species of Australian birds, Swiss chalet exteriors and other kitsch scenes. Fragments of his parents’ 1970s curtain material are rendered in photographic works that return them to framed, window-like settings, despite the fabrics clearly being discarded as drop cloths for subsequent domestic re-decoration.
Among the moving portraits of Monk’s family is a slideshow that magnifies one image of them 80 times over, through which the artist is reflected in his child’s gaze – as titled, Monk is literally Searching for My Father in My Sister’s Eyes (2002) – while a series of childhood or holiday snaps, Same Time In A Different Place, are each juxtaposed with a vintage invitation card, for shows by the likes of Dan Graham, Sol LeWitt or On Kawara, sourced from the same date.
Opposite – Senza Titolo V, 2012
Exhibition runs through to January 17th, 2015
Lisson Gallery
27 Bell Street
NW1 5DA
London
