Christopher L G Hill: encapsulated
an exhibition of paintings,
an archive of bags,
a group show featuring:
Dan Arps, Hugo Blomley, Nicola Blumenthal, Stella Corkery, Matt Hinkley, Kenji Ide, Carmen - Sibha Keiso, Michael Kennedy, Joel Kirkham, Gian Manik, Josh Minkus, Nao Osada, Conor O’Shea, Jasmine Pickup, Adriana Ramić, Masato Takasaka (and Stephen Bram), Matthew Ware, Alexander Whitehouse, Hee Joon Youn, and maybe more…
and the 10th issue of Endless (encapsulated) Lonely Planet, featuring:
Cameron Allen McKean, Dan Arps, Hugo Blomley, Nicola Blumenthal, Stephen Bram, Jack Colee, counterfeitnessfirst, Stella Corkery, Renee Cosgrave, Abella D’Adamo, Gabriella D’Costa, Alethea Everard, Lewis Fidock (Campbell the swaggie, wandering poet Maldon), Yani Florence, Matt Hinkley, Caesar Florence Howard, Kenji Ide, Carmen - Sibha Keiso, Michael Kennedy, Joel Kirkham, Lei Lei Kung, Piotr Łakomy, Gian Manik, Kate Meakin, Adelle Mills, Josh Minkus, Lloyd MST, Caeylen Fenelon Norris, Nao Osada, Conor O’Shea, Virginia Overell, Joshua Petherick, Jasmine Pickup, Andre Piguet, Owen Piper, Adriana Ramić, Luke Sands, Masato Takasaka, Matthew Ware, Alexander Whitehouse, Fiona Williams, Hee Joon Youn…
To encapsulate the individual, overlapping with others is necessary. We are an amalgamation of our interactions with other individuals, in relation to other individuals. I don’t think this can be fully solidified. Connections are meaningful and loose, conversational, old and new, ongoing and momentary, held and collected.
encapsulated is an overlap of the form of the solo show, collection/archive, facilitated group show and publication.
The ‘solo’ show is of small hobbyist paintings that are as much about painting as they are about the extended language of painting, drawing, comics, cartoons, seepage, mist, chaos, nihilism, anarchy, poetry, ect. As well as these paintings, there are three approximately 15 year old “endless paintings” which continue this extended language; without a finish point, having had layers added at least once every three months for the last 15 years plus.
The facilitated group show did not have a definitive plan aside from the aforementioned conversation of show within a show, and the idea of encapsulation. How artworks function as independent and overlapping with the other works in a group show has always interested me, and others I’m sure. Do artworks encourage new readings with the artworks across from them? Encapsulated in an built enclosure, in autonomy from the two other shows, framed, but still in conversation with my paintings and my collection of plastic bags.
The collection of plastic bags creates a bunting or ribbon around the other layers of the exhibition. They continue a conversation with what is internal/contained and what is shared/spread. Plastic bags collect other things, yet are also becoming less and less common for obvious environmental reasons. For me they hold memories of trips overseas and of improvised holding they have held over the years. A thin layer, a temporary yet sadly very permanent membrane with very little value, a dancer in American Beauty, a great improviser, sharer of lemons and second hand jumpers, a Vomir face covering, a shoe, a handbag, a balloon, a home.
This premise hopes to mirror and encourage an openness of what it means to be a person or artist, and how that always overlaps with other practices and personhoods. Perhaps the show becomes it’s own self, perhaps it extends the people taking part, myself included.
Stonehenge Vacuum (Masato Takasaka and Christopher L G Hill) will cut the ribbon so to speak; to open the show with vibrations of guitar strings.
With love Chris, us, them, etc.