LONDON.- Using her signature medium of exotic feathers,
Pangolin London presents a compelling new body of work by George Taylor - her first major solo show in London since 2008.
Inspired by ritual feather-work pieces from the Andes and Hawaii, Taylors painstakingly created works combine primal instinct and natural materials with todays canon of contemporary art by using complex optical designs and sumptuous, iridescent colour.
During Taylors quest to find a conceptual language that complimented her own experience of the natural world which surrounds her on the secluded Gloucestershire farm she lives and works on, Taylor was inspired by the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard (1884-1962) whose term Intimate Immensity was first referred to in his book the Poetics of Space in 1958.
Relating to Bachelards correlation of a moment of inner stillness with eternal disquiet and the continual cycle of life and death Taylors works are at once mesmerisingly still and full of life and rebirth.
The fleeting moment and subtle movement are at the core of much of Taylors work and many works in the exhibition show her ongoing investigation into the state of Nirvana reached through the connection of the little death of sexual orgasm, or through the act of dying itself. More recently Taylor has also taken inspiration from writers such as the feminist philosopher Luce Irigaray (b.1930) whose thoughts about how erotic intimacy and proximity could evoke a sacred stillness are so similar to her own.
Highlights of the exhibition include a new monumental work The Beast in Me, 2017, which at 7ft tall and made from the glistening feathers of the cockerel and crow has a slightly sinister yet sensual quality. A new film Innocent Potency featuring Taylor will also be screened for the first time and interweaves imagery of an innocent but sexually charged pillow fight with raw imagery of Cuban cockfighting rituals.
In recent years, Taylor has used an extensive variety of feathers to create absorbing, large-scale pieces which blend qualities of sculpture, installation and painting. Her work is in numerous influential private collections and prices range from £2,500 to £100,000.
Please note: No animals were harmed to create this work. George Taylor carefully sources her feathers from birds that have died naturally or from Victorian taxidermy collections.
The exhibition will run from 7 March until 14 April.