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Thursday, March 30, 2006

art review: a polar explosion resulting in evil bunnies and a giant bear with a door for a tummy

The entire gallery looked like the North Pole exploded and some of the animals went rabid. And not just the walls, but the floors, the ceiling, everywhere you look there were animals and sparkly winter wonderland. There was never a place for the eye to rest.
Vicki Lynn Wilson  Love in the Wild @ Blackfish Gallery
420 NW 9th, through April 1

I know I probably shouldn't have taken this photo all on-the-sly with my camera phone. But I wanted it to be my cell wallpaper because I was truely enchanted. Honest! So here, up front, is all the artist and gallery information to ease the guilty pinch a little.

What I did not realize was that there was a whole performance art aspect to this show that I missed when I arrived late on opening night many weeks back. I remember being worried that I wasn't dressed nice enough with my sneaks and messy hair because the gallery was in the Pearl. Instead I was greeted by an entirely empty gallery and the artist dismantling her costume and makeup. She seemed honestly upset that I had missed the performance. Performance art not being my thing, I wasn't really all that upset. But now I wonder what I missed based on the enthusiasm of the artist. The Mercury didn't write anything up on this show until this week, not mentioning the performance art piece either. Curiosity builds.

 The Mercury review called it "amateurish". But I call a giant polar bear with a door for a tummy that easily out-sizes the average home refrigerator, simply just "delightful". (Granted, the bear was bowing under its own immense weight - with out a doubt testing the limits of plaster and wire.) Another corner reveals a grouping of white deer with a dotting of red eyes staring back at you. It is enchanting and creepy all at the same time - one of my favorite combinations - and nary a goth black item to be found. Check it out while you still can.

You can read the Mercury review here.

Copyright 2009 Jennifer Erts unless another artist credited. Do not copy, reproduce, reuse, modify any of the content or images from this site without permission.