Rebecca Ackroyd: The Mulch

Rebecca Ackroyd’s (b. 1987, UK) debut solo exhibition at Peres Projects, The Mulch, opens for Gallery Weekend Berlin. Ackroyd’s work is vital in today’s chaotic world, offering us modes of survival in dream-like fictional landscapes, informed by tough realities. This exhibition basks in a warm glow from the windows, which are colored red to change the quality of the light.

Ackroyd’s practice involves digging down into existing objects and memories and reconfiguring them into something new. In The Mulch, we see groups of shells and figurative sculptures made from chicken wire, plaster, collage, etc. The shells are giant in scale, yet skeletal, and burn with a fiery intensity next to the larger than life figures. These human forms wear spectacles, masks and motorcycle helmets, confronting us with their stark rawness, they present us with new notions of femininity and and power. In contrast to the self contained power-figures, the walls are peppered with paintings on paper which, having a soft, velvety surface and flowing lines, evoke a vulnerable tenderness and exquisite painterly quality.

Finally, the installation is anchored by a group wall sculptures which evoke shutters, most are battered and charred except for a metal shutter painted pink. Some of the shutters are collaged with black and white images of the rough texture of London streets, some cut from newspapers, and some photographed by the artist herself in the vicinity of her studio. These images are photocopied and layered to combine familiar urban textures with more personal responses to an environment.

Read the full press release here.