Pop Art is rightly lauded as one of the great art movements, but in terms of attention it casts a big shadow. Pre-Pop to Post-Human: Collage in the Digital Age goes back to what many consider to be the roots of Pop — back to a 1952 lecture at the ICA in London in which Sir Eduardo Paolozzi first revealed elements of his seminal Bunk! collages that he’d been working on since the 1940s. The collection would not be revealed in their entirety until 1971, but the Scottish artist’s work depicting advances of science, technology and machinery with seductive human forms are held to be a pivotal moment in Pop Art development in the 1950s.
The Bunk! prints form an important part of this touring exhibition organised by the Southbank Centre — in fact they are the jumping off point for a select group of London-based artists working in contemporary collage. The participating artists have been asked to respond to Paolozzi’s series and present their own ideas of how our bodies interact with technology through the collage medium. The show, curated by Isobel Harbison, is calling at Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool, from 6 March to 11 April. The artists invited to get involved are Pio Abad, Marie Angeletti, Helen Carmel Benigson, Gabriele Beveridge, Steve Bishop, Bryan Dooley, Adham Faramawy, Anthea Hamilton, Nicholas Hatfull, Eloise Hawser, Jack Lavender, Harry Meadows, Berry Patten, Peles Empire and Samara Scott.
Helen Carmel Benigson,
Cervix Opening, 2013,
Courtesy the artist and Hayward Touring,
Southbank Centre © the artist 2015
Jack Lavender,
Yesterdays Man 1, 2013,
Courtesy the artist and Hayward Touring,
Southbank Centre © the artist 2015
Gabriele Beveridge,
Untitled, 2013,
Courtesy the artist and Hayward Touring,
Southbank Centre © the artist 2015,
Photo, Mark Blower
Helen Carmel Benigson,
Licking Road, 2013,
Courtesy the artist and Hayward Touring,
Southbank Centre © the artist 2015
Eloise Hawser,
Quality Assurance Phantom, 2013,
Courtesy the artist and Hayward Touring,
Southbank Centre © the artist 2015
Anthea Hamilton,
Kabuki Drop (At Leisure), 2013,
Courtesy the artist and Hayward Touring,
Southbank Centre © the artist 2015
Pio Abad,
Soft Power (Thrilla) I, 2013,
Courtesy the artist and Hayward Touring,
Southbank Centre © the artist 2015
Photo, Mark Blower
