Marco Sanges
'The Indecent Eye'
26 May - 21 June 2014
artist

THE INDECENT EYE
by E.S.Jones

Marco Sanges cordially invites his viewers to enter his extraordinary worlds. A fantastic storyteller, this artist creates cinematic sequences from his photographs. As we peer through the silvered lens, distortion suggests all is meaningless, that nothing has purpose. Within such surreal walls, logical arguments fall into nonsense, eloquent speech collapses into gobbledegook- and the inevitable outcome will be silence. As a result, Sanges’ players are trapped in cruelly endless mimes, menaced relentlessly by incomprehensible outside forces. Aghast, afraid, astonished, they gesture helplessly from the other side of their screens, enormously exaggerated.

Marco Sanges’ works are peopled by uncanny, larger than life characters. His untidy troupe of old money and sugar daddies wear powdered wigs and brylcremed toupees at jaunty angles. From lavish opium dens, gentlemen peer out suspiciously through tobacco-smoked monocles. They pose blindfolded and androgynous, morbidly fat or incredibly thin with ribs like spiral staircases. Tulle-skirted girls wilt in velvet chairs waiting for the end- resigned to the fact that it is probably already written. With regal noses and cupid’s bows, stooping drag queens wear fox furs attached by teeth to tail. Tall ladies politely face the wall, small ones run amok under madly darkened eyebrows.

Darkly enchanting, these photographs are touching in their depiction of human frailty and strength. Once the metaphysical rug is whipped out from under your feet, you are forced to come to a conclusion, make your own mistakes and see the funny side. Suddenly, you too are part of the picture, rooted to the spot, wildly gesturing and making peculiar faces. Afterwards you might scratch your head and wonder what just happened, but Sanges is a magician, an unhinged puppet master with a camera. As you step back out into the June afternoon, come rain or shine you may feel you’ve a touch of sunstroke- but it’s only your mind playing tricks on you again.

Alexey Lyubimkin
'City / Lights'
26 May - 21 June 2014
artist

LUMINO-CITIES
by E.S.Jones

‘Architecture is the most stylish way of culture representation, and… like many people, I like to make my own discoveries. In this variety of city landscapes and cultural traditions no creative person can remain indifferent. I often carry my camera with me, which becomes my interpreter and even my partner… London is one of the most beautiful cities in the world for me.’- Alexey Lyubimkin

The photographs of the architect Alexey Lyubimkin are love letters to the cities he encounters. He unfolds the lines of trees and buildings as though they were simply blueprints of the original city design. His lens is a magnifying glass that scrutinises the things our naked eye cannot see, as he presents the ever changing landscapes.

Borrowing from an old tinting technique, Lyubimkin uses a modern myriad of solero hues. Metallic rain falls in pins and needles over smoothly inked barcodes, finally slipping off the page. Printer margins drag their heels in orange and pink while clouds change like the Northern Lights or a heat sensitive T-shirt. The artist’s preoccupation with colour emphasises the importance of noticing beauty- even to our rat race during rush hour. If we were to look up from the pavement for just one moment, we might spot a streetlamp glancing off the gutter at a perfect angle, or see how branches transform the sky into a stained glass window.

The black and white compositions are poetic views of Italy, from the morning sun on vineyards and cypresses, to the long tall shadows of the afternoon where dark trees and bright clouds copy each other’s airy shapes. Heatwaves and summer storms give way to the far off scattered lights of an evening village. Whilst these works are graphically different to the cityscapes, the artist’s extraordinary sense of wonder is maintained even in the idyllic.

Whether we love or hate where we live, we subconsciously give ourselves context by our perceived relationship to environment. Working out how it all fits together, and then how to live within that space brings a sense of belonging. If we are not present to our surroundings at all then we will always feel at odds- and be homesick wherever we go. The artist gets us standing in place to marvel at those forms around us, and find out our personal geometry. Rolling out the bridges and streets under our feet like carpets, Lyubimkin invites us into the picture- and to finally feel like we’re home.

E-mail: info@hayhillgallery.com