17 – 21 May 2021
Fusing ordinary artifacts with implied sensual imaginings, Cook and Stott re-envision working class aesthetics through celebration, questioning the importance of mundane objects within the Experimental Studio’s gallery space. Cook and Stott weave constant conversation of spirituality and joy through vivid colour and dynamic painting. The accumulation of clustered objects is suggestive of human intimacy, giving divine attention to drunken fumblings brings a sense of celebration towards imperfection.
Cook and Stott hone in on sensual connotations by reconsidering mundane objects as precious material. After months of restricted human contact due to the coronavirus pandemic, remnants of human activity found within expendable objects are treated as valuable. Cook and Stott’s interest in found objects stems from living within working-class areas. By finding joy in curious sightings of drunkenly, crude human activity that is often overlooked or appropriated, Common Encounters jabs at the natural prestige of a gallery space by presenting these objects unedited and raw. Placement of objects alongside murals capturing energetic sensuality brings forth the importance of these activities and questions the blasphemy in manipulating the objects to commodify a working-class aesthetic. Bold feminine forms adorned in teal and bright pink fuel the spirit of the objects as they intermingle within the space. The dynamic large-scale paintings are organic through curved brushstrokes, magnifying the sporadic energy found in the chosen artefacts and preserving it in a shrine-like fashion.
The dissonance between the energetic traditional materials of paintings and selected objects are tied together through blender animations and tanned wooden structures, building a cross path for the two components to weave throughout. The projections are essential within the practice, as the fluidity and energy are captured through the dancing of the 3D models and seep through the materials, mixing the white gallery walls with the found objects. Merging digital, controlled movement amongst the seemingly spontaneous echoes of human activity in the physical world is suggestive of the favoring of memory over present as lockdown brought bleak isolating times. The juxtaposition offers the viewer a dose of accumulation of momentary joy as imagined scenarios overlap relics of lived experiences.
