Chinese Whispers

Interesting exhibition at The Fine Art Society of work by Rob and Nick Carter.

These works were large and made up of 30 plus small drawings in a Warhol like picture. The first was recognisable but then they gradually became more abstract as each changed slightly in the same way a message changes in the children’s game of Chinese Whispers. It was really interesting to use then to think about what the basic form of an image is. A good example of this was the version of Leonardo’s “Last Supper” which gradually melted into being shapes.

It was fascinating to read that the works had been created by giving an Andy Warhol drawing to a copyist in China who then did a version which was passed to another copyist without them seeing the original and on we go. I had not realised that there are art factories in China with copyists making pictures for hotels and offices.

The idea linked well to the Linda Karshan show I’d seen earlier in the day which also showed how small differences in a work can make a big difference. A really interesting idea!

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