The body is a wonderland – mind-bending exhibition CREATURE crawls into IMA
Moulding together fairytale-like wonder with confronting images of body horror, internationally-acclaimed artist Marianna Simnett will kick off her first-ever Australian exhibition, CREATURE, at the Institute of Modern Art (IMA) on Saturday February 22. A challenging and bewitching creative endeavor, the six-week exhibition will showcase the past six years of Simnett’s artistic journey, presenting three of her most notable works together for the very first time.
Gaining global attention for her gloriously grotesque-yet-gorgeous film works, London-based multi-media artist Marianna Simnett draws upon conventions of storytelling and mythical tales to explore the body as a site of transition. Her works, which have been shown in galleries in New York, Haarlem and Zurich, often feature the artist performing alongside a cast of non-actors. The surrealist films all reflect the relationships people develop with their bodies — whether it involve self-love, dysmorphia or surgery.
In CREATURE, Marianna will present three of her most significant works, including Blood In My Milk (2018) – an eerie 73-minute, five-channel video installation involving a motley cast of humans, non-humans and the artist herself, which explores the anxieties surrounding the body in a disorientating musical tale. Marianna will push her body to the limits with Faint with Light (2016) – a sculptural installation that sees her repeatedly inducing her own unconsciousness, while The Needle and the Larynx (2016) will showcase an intense, slow-motion shot of the artist receiving an injection of Botox into her larynx to lower the pitch of her voice (a procedure usually undertaken by men to attain a deeper voice post-puberty). Through grotesque tales and cautionary fables that explore varying states of the body, CREATURE is set to both shock and captivate audiences.
CREATURE opens to the public on Saturday February 22 from 4:00–7:30 pm with a conversation with Marianna Simnett and IMA Director Liz Nowell at 5:00 pm, and will run until Saturday April 18. To learn more about the exhibition, visit the IMA website.
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