No Man Is An Island
Almine Rech, London, 2020
Rhea Dillon, Madelynn Green, Li Qing, George Rouy, Sally Saul, and Francesco Vezzoli
In 1985 NASA published a book exploring how humans adjusted psychologically and socially to space. 'Living Aloft: Human Requirements for Extended Spaceflight' was the outcome of research to “ease the Earth/space transition”. The book discussed the three broad stages of human reaction to prolonged isolation, confinement, and stress. The first stage is a period of heightened anxiety produced by the perceived dangers in the situation. The second stage involved establishing a day to day routine, peppered with moments of depression. Stage three is a dangerous period of anticipation, leading to “emotional outbursts, aggressiveness, and rowdy behaviour.” All three stages are very familiar to anyone who has made it through the restriction of the COVID lockdown.
We are emerging from a period of limitation and separation. This shift from the norm led to fantasies about simple social experiences – a dinner with friends in a restaurant, dancing in a club surrounded by unknown bodies, café life, a hug of friendship, a kiss. When these quotidian experiences were removed, it was shocking how quickly humanity began to suffer, moving through the three stages of isolation distress with text book speed. This exhibition emerges from this emotional state.
Touch, in particular, is a running motif in the works on display. Touch is the first sense of perceptual experience, though it has often been overshadowed by sight or sound. Yet, we experience the world in a multisensory way. Perception and the body are innately intertwined. These are images and objects that depict physicality and connection. They demonstrate how humans need love and desire despite circumstance. Exuding a joy of life, they suggest an antidote to our anxiety.
Young British artist Rhea Dillon's emotive works questions the freedom of representation and experience, beyond the structures of white supremacy. Her films, photographs and abstract paintings explore emotional narratives and how they are framed by ideas of narrative and queerness, while elevating the African British diasporic experience.
Angels Die So Pigs Can Fly And Other Folks Tales, 2020
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30 cm
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30 cm
Icarus! Icarus! Icarus!, 2020
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 45.5 x 35.5 cm
Oil and acrylic on canvas, 45.5 x 35.5 cm
Cellar Door (A Litany), 2020
Anti climb paint, oil and newsprint on board, 86 x 51.5 cm
Anti climb paint, oil and newsprint on board, 86 x 51.5 cm
Cellar Door (A Litany) (detail), 2020
Cellar Door (A Litany) (detail), 2020
Cellar Door (A Litany) (detail), 2020