Super Absorbent

A solo exhibition of works by Leigh Clarke.

Maximillian Wölfgang Gallery presented Super Absorbent, a solo show featuring the works of British artist, Leigh Clarke.

Searching through online platforms, Clarke locates avatars and pseudonyms, and imagines them as figurative forms. Physically realising anonymous and invisible occupants in online spaces, the artist abandons the mechanical and digital in favour of a direct and performative approach, using his own weight to apply pressure to create the printed or painted image. The work can be considered in various modes: the subversive exuberance of throwing wet sponges at captive teachers at a school fete (which itself recalls the more-sinister spectacle of stocks in the town square); the sponge’s intended use to clean; sponge as a fast-learner. His compositions reflect on dance culture in the 90’s, remembering shamanic moments of disconnect on dance floors and the united euphoria of strangers in dark spaces. One third of UK nightclubs have closed; this is partly due to the increasing overheads and small margins that the industry bears.

However, rising cost-of-living squeezes us all and means choices are made – increasingly people opt for big one-off blow-outs at photogenic festivals, over a regular night out to a local club. Clarke locates bloggers from social media platforms and imagines them in movement, in physical spaces, resolving differences through human interaction and dance. The crossword prints are of a series that celebrate concentration and puzzle solving by strangers on trains. They derive from the artists collection of unfinished Metro crosswords from his train journeys from Kent to London. Using screenprinting techniques, the artist re-creates the crossword grid, enlarges, and traces the handwriting in fine detail. He sees them as discarded, unresolved and absorbent moments of human thought, outside of social media and AI.

• https://maximillianwolfgang.gallery/leig...