A solo exhibition of London-based artist Jamie Fitzpatrick, whose practice deals with the rhetoric of image making, the relevance of the figure and how objects and totemic gestures, such as flags, statues or plinths, are used to impose forms of power, authority and control. Fitzpatrick uses the exhibition space as a site for the works to perform. By bringing elements of mechanics and undermining the permanence of figurative sculpture, the works lend themselves to a narrative and the theatrical.
Fitzpatrick’s domineering sculptures aim to undermine patriarchal depictions of masculinity and nationhood, rendering them absurd and dumb. Sculpture, painting, installation, sound and the spoken word all attempt to heighten and question the experience of what it means to stand in front of something that has been made with the express intention of supporting, qualifying or glorifying an ideal of authority, placing its viewer under a state of subordination.
For this site-specific installation, Fitzpatrick exploits the limitations of the 16-metre vitrine as a means to further disrupt and undermine the works. By breaking the sanctity of the sited exhibition and working towards creating temporal shifts as a means of both undermining the sculptural arrogance of permanence, works dominate and alter the environment through motorised movement. These works acknowledge their own confinement within the vitrine and adopt the inherent limitations to their advantage.
Influenced by absurdist theatre, in particular Samuel Beckett and the satire of 16th century French playwright Molière; Fitzpatrick has devised a short three-part play (the horse, the king and the nurse) considering transgression and rebellion. In the tradition of ‘Punch and Judy’ puppet shows and in the spirit of outrageous comedy, the piece explores indecency and madness in the face of authority. This written component acts as both a backdrop and an anchor for the exhibition, playing a major part within the development of his practice.
Curator: Chris Bayley.
Generously supported by Arts Council England.
Jamie Fitzpatrick (b.1985, Southport, UK) lives and works in London. He graduated in 2015 with an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art, having gained a BA (Hons) in Fine Art, Philosophy and Contemporary Practice in 2009 from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee. Awards include: Vordemberge-Gildewart Award (2016), shortlist; XL Catlin Art Prize (2016); UK/RAINE Saatchi Gallery Sculpture Prize (2015); New Contemporaries (2015 and 2016); Cowley Manor (2015), shortlist; LAND Securities Award (2015).
He has been exhibited international in galleries, institutions and art fairs including: ICA, London, UK; Camden Arts Centre, London, UK; Saatchi Gallery, London, UK; Castlefield Gallery, Manchester, UK; Bluecoat, Liverpool, UK; Backlit, Nottingham, UK; Pangaea Sculptor’s Centre, London, UK; Cowley Manor Sculpture Garden, Cheltenham, UK; Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, UK.
Residencies include: Pangaea Sculptors’ Centre, London (2015); The Leatherseller’s Company (2014); Telfer Gallery, Glasgow (2012); John Kinross Scholarship, Florence, Italy (2010); Cite International des Arts, Paris Residency (2014); and Scottish Sculpture Workshop (2009).