Looking at the enigmatic Rabbit is Rich exhibition from Brian Dooley seems to have a lot of people scratching their heads a bit, trying to work out exactly what’s going on. Judging by the title, we’re going to take a stab at a visual response to themes in John Updike’s third Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom novel of the same name, in which the dislikeable protagonist has made it in life, but isn’t really satisfied with whatever “it” is.
We have the alcoholism of Rabbit’s wife portrayed with the whisky bottles, alongside avocados (some people think they are poisonous to rabbits, but we’re making a giant leap there). There’s also a nod to the secret of Rabbit’s success, an inherited car dealership, in the glimpse of the parked car we see in one of the prints. The text accompanying the exhibition, at Rod Barton, London, is a warped sports commentary, perhaps alluding to Rabbit’s success as a high school athlete, and his son’s studies at college. The bead installation, draped over the pieces like a lanyard, has cropped up before in Dooley’s exhibitions, as has the wood chopping and construction, but we’d have to re-read the whole novel to make a stab at the meaning behind those features.
In fact, we could be making all that up – all we know for sure is that, whatever it is, it’s doing it for us aesthetically. Put your own spin on Dooley’s thinking by visiting the London gallery; you have until 15th June. Oh, and Brian, can you let us know if we’re warm?
Mount Judge (avocado + grip fill), 2013,
Sprayed aluminium panel, camouflage tape,
PVC adhesive print, beads,
111 x 140 cm
Installation View:
Rabbit is Rich
Bryan Dooley,
Rod Barton,
London
Macho Act (II), 2013
Sprayed aluminium panel, camouflage tape,
PVC adhesive print
111 x 140 cm
Installation View:
Rabbit is Rich
Bryan Dooley,
Rod Barton,
London
Little kiss and vinegar, 2013,
Sprayed aluminium panel, camouflage tape,
PVC adhesive print, beads,
111 x 140 cm
Frontier Consumer Reports, 2013
Sprayed aluminium panel, camouflage tape,
PVC adhesive print, beads
111 x 140 cm
All images courtesy Rod Barton, London.
Photography, Mariell Amélie.
