Rachel Harrison to exhibit at Whitechapel Gallery
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An exhibition by artist Rachel Harrison is due to open at the Whitechapel Gallery this Friday.
'Rachel Harrison: Conquest of the Useless' is the New York-based artist's first major UK installation and combines a wide range of mediums including photography, painting, sculpture, video, installation and architectural fragments..
At the heart of this survey show is her installation 'Indigenous Parts' a work which has been recreated in multiple locations, mutating with each context. Here it incorporates plinths borrowed from London’s museums clustered into a landscape of towers and plateaus on which objects are arranged in ritualistic scenarios. Her vibrantly coloured sculptures and deadpan videos create a complex panorama occupied by totemic sculptures bearing the attributes of iconic male figures such as Johnny Depp or Fats Domino.
Harrison’s work evokes a range of references and antecedents, a give-and-take between pop culture and the history of art. The title of the exhibition is drawn from Werner Herzog’s reflections on his 1982 film Fitzcarraldo, the tale of a would be rubber baron who aims to build an opera hall in the Amazonian jungle. The epic folly of this and Herzog’s own, nearly fatal vision of re-creating his subject’s quest to drag a steamer over a Peruvian mountain, finds its parallel in Harrison’s work.
Rachel Harrison: Conquest of the Useless, runs from 30 April to 20 June at the Whitechapel Gallery. Admission is free and opening times are Tuesday to Sunday, 11am – 6pm and Thursdays, 11am – 9pm.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments