JUSTIN MATHERLY – COMPOST
2020-12-28Juxtaposing classical elements with anachronistic and humorous details, Matherly examines psychological and bodily trauma, and the often oblique or recursive path of convalescence. Two towering sculptures titled Eat yourself fitter feature an enlarged reproduction of the head of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. Sentineled in each of the front galleries, the deities face out towards the street, gorging on brightly colored tubes that tumble from their mouths in intestinal coils. The absurd action is both defiant and futile, grotesque and comical—bringing to mind the cannibalistic antagonist of the 1980 Italian horror film Antropophagus and the ancient ouroboros symbol of a serpent who eats its own tail.
Opposite – Eat yourself fitter, 2019
Exhibition runs through to February 20th, 2021
Paula Cooper Gallery
243A Worth Avenue
FL, 33480 Palm Beach
USA
