Twilight of the Idols with Hana Sheikh
In April I had the opportunity to visit an art exhibition at the Barking Learning Centre. Twilight of the Idols is created by L.A MacDonald. The exhibition of work gets its title from Friedrich Nietzsche’s publication ‘Gotzen-Dammerung’. Like Nietzsche, L.A MacDonald addresses and examines culture and the lasting legacy of Icons.
In order to project his work, MacDonald uses a range of techniques. His images are screen prints typically shown on paper/equipment he had found including tissue, photographic studio backgrounds and used cardboard boxes. Many say that they are nostalgic pieces of work screen-printed with obvious references to Warhol and the 1960s. The colours used are strong and vibrant in contrast to the grain less of the original photographs.
Despite the familiarity of the originals, these images are made potent again. This maybe, because of the contrast between the simplicity and physical vulnerability of the objects made with the very strong subjects. Each piece is often made of intense apocalyptic colour applied to such delicate, thin layers of tissue paper.
The works delve into the myth of fame, linking the viewer with the humanity and the tragedy of past events. His work forms a bridge spanning the void between public images and private lives including celebrity and intimacy. Some work shows death and moments before; the death of Donald Campbell captured in Bluebirds moment of crashing, John Lennon captured giving an autograph to his killer just moments before he was murdered and finally the confident and iconic Marilyn Monroe being contrasted by her lonely death.
I found the works both touching and tragic and I shall be interested to see where L.A MacDonald takes his work next.
