Review by Louise Thompson
On display at the Wilson Street Gallery this week are the surreal, futurist images by Dan McCormack. With a similarity to image transfers, McCormack's works arrest the eye with their unfinished, grungy appearance. An invisible string threads the viewer through the eccentricity of his mind apparent in each inkjet print; and with their surface beauty, one is lured with the temptation to touch.
Raking the sands of technology, he has taken the granules of time, integrating them to produce fascinating, innovative compositions. In combining one of the earliest photographic techniques with the latest technology, he has extended the photographic pinhole process in intriguing ways while keeping consistency well under par. Both process and content weave through time, bringing history and the present to a surface climax. In exploring the naked form, he has portrayed nudity in a shameless open way; and rather than touching on suggestive issues, he has revealed the comfortable, confident stance of his models. The women make no issue of shyness, 'Maia' stands directly in front of a blackboard which reads her repeated detention lines, "I will not come to class naked", whereas 'Lupe' appears wearing nothing but knee-high boots, reflecting the childhood fun of dressing up.
Void of frames, the works swell with diverse artistic expression, each holding an individual meaning. In portraying the nudes in different contexts, his use of locations varies, ranging from metropolitan and interior views, to the raw traditional landscape. Some works hold a futurist appeal with their extremely vibrant, electric colours, while others follow a more traditional style with the use of subtle, muted hues.
From start to finish, in their intricate creation, these are works which have been produced and reproduced, starting as one medium then becoming another. With great skill, McCormack has brought his exquisite imagery to our attention, reminding us to embrace what technology has given us, yet respect what was there in its absence. In both a material and philosophical sense, his use of these mediums is that of a master, a powerful impressive collection that long lingers in the mind.
http://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/arts/vpa/wilsonstreet/exhibitions/sing_the_body_electric/index.html |