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 If you walked in, and you weren’t staring at the women elegantly dressed in vinyl, then you were probably distracted by the horde of people rushing to get tickets at the door before they ran out. The Arts Project featuring The Shadowood Collective was packed, and more were coming in to see the tiny horrors displayed along the walls and throughout the building. This was the opening night of “A Curious Collection of Monstrous Tinies”.
The first work of art that struck my eye, and most probably everyone else’s, was the walking fashion models, tightly wrapped in non-traditional latex mimicking Marie Antoinette’s wardrobe. These designs were made by London’s own Ashley Davies, who has been in 4 shows previous to this. Because the show occurred so close to Valentine’s Day, Ashley decided to go with the theme of Marie Antoinette Undressed: “I chose Marie because she is a historic style icon who was never afraid to be sexy and daring”. Furthermore, Ashley believes the art is “ elegant yet perverted” imitating her personal style but also presenting a strength in sexuality that she believes Marie Antoinette was never afraid to express.
Exit 2012 is also not afraid to express themselves, creating what Jeremy Hobbs, guitarist, refers to as “free-form improvised music with zero restrictions due to style”. Unlike most of the work in the gallery, the group Exit 2012 creates all of their pieces on the spot without many predetermined intentions or guidelines. “The music is created from random chaos, but always with sense of balance and composition in mind”. This ethos is also reflected in Jeremy’s photography.
It is quite easy to distinguish each artist from the other, with Jeremy’s distorted photos lingering in the background, ready to distress and capture those willing to take the time to examine them. There are many that believe that distortion is an integral characteristic of beauty and while it is not a mainstream ideology it is certainly one that stands out throughout the show.
Sarah Legault, one of the main creators of The Shadowood Collective is also an artist, with Black Papermate stick pen drawings of dark miniatures, she hopes her art and more importantly the show creates a unique atmosphere that people can remember. “We hope that the show will inspire people to see beauty in something dark. Although dark beauty is sometimes hard to stomach, especially for those seeing human suspension preformed for the first time.
iWasCured, a London based suspension group presented a private show at the back of The Arts Project. Some may have found it hard to see a human endure pain willingly, with fish hooks placed in strategic positions and then pulled up towards the roof. However, with the right mentality, the pain can be overcome and the beauty is found in the peace and stability presented by the artist’s endurance.
The show contained the work of other well-known artists such as Vincent Marcone, Richard Kirk, Ryan Price, Gary Pullin, Anthony Veilleux, Tomas Dysinski, Justin Erickson and others. Although The Shadowood Collective isn’t the first of its kind in London, it is the first of many for the group, which with time will hopefully expand to feature much more gothic artwork from all over North America. Till then, these monstrous tinies will continue to haunt and inspire audiences, bringing with them a morbid curiosity that will provoke the subconscious to remember the night forever.
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