Archive 2007-08
Edwina Ashton
- Venue: Fine Art Lecture Theatre
- Start: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 11:30:00 GMT
- End: Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:00:00 GMT
Edwina Ashton develops drawings and films exploring fantastical characters which pursue a sombre and restrained scepticism alongside, hysterical excitement and aesthetic self reflection. She also occasionally writes for publication.
“Edwina Ashton’s videos reaffirm the specificity of each individual animal rather than representing them as archetypes, as wildlife painters do. In her recent show ‘Excusez-moi’ she represents them as humans in animal costumes, or as naive approximations with pantomime tendencies. Rather than depicting a creature in its natural form and environment, Ashton propels it into her own, very human, realm. The subject of Moth (all works 2002) is a person sitting on a windowsill, dressed in a ludicrous moth costume, while a voice-over reads from an archaic, educative text for lepidopterists. With an agenda that is ultimately anthropocentric, the narration expounds points of interest, such as ‘blue in moths is exceedingly rare’, and outlines how to kill insects while retaining the vibrancy of their colours. In a truly Victorian manner wildlife has been reduced to a list of empirical data, yet the gross presence of the oversized and anatomically inaccurate moth neatly transforms this pomposity into pathos.”
Sally O’Reilly, writing in Frieze magazine, Issue 74 April 2003
Articles:
http://www.frieze.com/issue/review/edwina_ashton/
Haunted by the Animal STEVE BAKER:
http://www.ekac.org/haunted.html