CreatorSam LeachTitleMonitored skulls IDate2007MediumOil on linenDimensionsH. 94cm x W. 134cmArtist StatementStill life is a genre associated with the origin of modernity. I have been quite influenced by Roland Barthes's essay "World as Object", particularly where he discusses the importance of the surface sheen of objects depicted. He talks about the way that this sheen "lubricates" a person's gaze so that they can move through the world easily, without being snagged by the intricate connections of every object. In part, this seems to be what made the profound changes to society possible - the ability to see the world as discrete objects, unencumbered by the web of networked associations; spiritual, political, medicinal and magical. Bruno Latour described these associations as hybrid objects, with the rise of modern thought in the 17th century, he argued, people simply denied the existence of hybrid objects. More recently awareness of the embedded nature of reality seems to have risen, making new actions more considered but also more difficult. With the still life genre we can move between these states - from the lubricated gaze to the embedded mesh. At times we might need to proceed as if objects were somehow separated from the world. We can look at ourselves as objects, separate but embedded, hybrid but distinct, a part of a continuum of history and still a unique development.Accession Number085.2017Access AdviceFor research purposes only. No reproduction without permission of Yarrila Arts and Museum.
