Jack Strange

Let’s get this out of the way: Jack Strange makes art work that is eccentric, the meaning of which is frequently elusive. His approach is in keeping with his name – a happy coincidence that’s noteworthy and amusing, but hardly enough to merit prolonged discussion. On the face of it the same could be said for ‘The Same As Usual’, Strange’s second solo show at Limoncello, but the young London-based artist avoids easy dismissals, as the show’s throwaway cynicism was happily softened by several more playful, thoughtful moments.
Interpretations of the body and broader notions of presence loosely informed the exhibition. ‘What do you want more of? (I)–(XXIII)’ (all works 2010) comprises almost two-dozen rectangular cardboard sheets, ranging between knee to head height, leaning against a wall. Each has two tumble stones – purportedly imbued with different characteristics, from balance and strength to creativity and sexuality – inserted as eyes. Made from pinkish insulating foam, Body Feeling 3D is a chunkily abstracted representation of the artist adopting a yoga position: bulky and awkward, the sagging foam gives a bathetic rendition of minimalist monumentality. ‘Non-Stop Likelihoods (I)–(X)’ is a series of pairs of conjoined Twiglets that Strange found having rooted through bags of the twig-like wheat snacks. The artist thought that they resembled coiling chromosomes and, sandwiched between two pieces of clear resin, they do resemble specimens from a lab. Is this a cynical take on attempts to understand what makes us unique or the modest fruits of a long afternoon in the pub? As is often the case with his work, Strange navigates a thin line between apparently high-minded inquiry and Tom Friedman-esque tomfoolery.
Seriously is equally elusive. A life-size, steel stick man sits in a chair with a bulky Antony Gormley monograph resting on his lap. An orange helium balloon on a long piece of string stands in for his head. The implication appears damning: Gormley’s work (or perhaps public sculpture at large?) is for airheads. But Strange’s statements are never so clear-cut. Seriously is also a not-so-subtle swipe at coffee-tabled art adulation, though, as with much of his work, implied critique hides behind a cloak of naivety.
Sparkling Sony HDR TG3, Sony DCR-TRV25E, Sony CCD-TRV228E was the most conceptually and formally considered of the pieces in the show. Three monitors sat on the floor, each showing a glass of fizzy water filmed using three different models of video camera, resulting in subtly different hues. Each video loops as the bubbles finally fade, a simple exercise that delights in recording slight variations of the banal and of time passing, recalling the dry concision of Martin Creed.
With this kind of light-touch conceptualism, emphasis and meaning are fugitive partners. ‘The Same As Usual’ opened with the equally sardonically titled Welcome To Stupid, a work that came to override and inform the rest of the show. The gallery’s small entrance hall was covered with a thin layer of soil so that, throughout the snowy Christmas period, visitors trudged mud across the floor, creating a grubby index of works considered. It was apparently added as an after-thought shortly before the opening, a last-minute act that literally dirtied the show and a conceptually deft sleight of hand. Content and interpretation were enmeshed with sullied footprints, a smoke-screen that Strange can stand behind. What’s more, if you view the work as awkward or scruffy, well that’s your fault, you shouldn’t have stepped inside.