The Human Factor

Excellent exhibition at the Hayward Gallery using the work of 25 artists to look at how contemporary artists have looked at the human form. The body has been one of the oldest subjects in art history and many of the artists revisited old themes or techniques.

I have a bit a phobia of wax works after being chased by one once (don’t ask) so I found a few of the works a bit difficult as they were so real but oddly not the most real one Paul McCarthy’s “That Girl” three super life casts of a naked girl. However I couldn’t stand with the Maurizio Callelan figure of JFK in his coffin.

I loved Ryan Gander’s take on the Degas ballerina showing her as escaped and peering out of the window or slipped off her plinth to have a cigarette! Also his spooky marble sculpture which turned out to be of his four year old daughter playing ghosts with a sheet.

My favourite was Ugo Rondinone’s “Nudes 4 Dancers” which were four life sized figures on each side of a large white room. From a distance they look whole and perfect but up close you find the artist cast them in wax 16-20 pieces and each piece has used a different earth to colour them plus if the subject, who were dancers, moved the pieces didn’t quite fit together and there splits and spaces in the bodies.

A very thought provoking exhibition which has stayed with me and I’ll enjoy spotting more work by the artists in other shows.

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