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Marc Quinn "Evolution" at White Cube, Mason's Yard

From:     Egg
Category: Art
Date:     21 February 2008
Time:     05:54 PM

Review:

Marc Quinn's ideas are so basic it reminds me of watching uk tv food, here he promotes seasonal 
vegetables and locally sourced food, he tells  us to get back in touch with our nature and reminds us 
how out of touch we are. The ideas are so obvious and so stupid that one really does feel like one is 
watching Market Kitchen rather than reading an intelligent press release. The results of his 
ponderings of out of season food and packaged vegetable look remarkable. Bright bold crass 
paintings of tulips next to glistening strawberries cover the 4 walls and in the centre chrome 
sculptures of flowers about 15 dotted across the space on plinths. These are orchids that also grow 
cucumbers, strawberries, pears etc. The installation looks good, the metal flowers against the crappy 
bold paintings, and I like the way these rows of things look as you move around them - reminds me of 
watching pylons glide across the horizon when driving along the motorway  (something I've always 
enjoyed particularly as a child). 

Down stairs (may be this should be two reviews I know no one has very long attention spans, I hope 
I'm holding you) the foetuses. The crappy shaping of these sculptures reminds me of his Alison 
Lapper, there is something almost cartoony in the way they are made, the smooth surfaces, not 
graphic enough for me, but some how ugly in a likeable way. These big blocks have the foetus carved 
out of them in different stages of development. Its all so crude and crap. He wants to remind us of our 
own "strange beginnings", and the thing is I think he is quite right to do so. I know its an area that I am 
interested in, so easy for me to enjoy. Its just so basic and so crap and the language that is used to 
write about it is dull, but even so I love it all this crappy crap, it has to be interesting where we come 
from but some one needs to know how to talk about it intelligently, to give it the explanation it is due. 
Ugly ugly sculptures nothing beautiful about them. I am too traditional and want a human touch that I 
can’t see in these sculptures, though the human touch to be seen in the water colours that describe 
them is appalling! 

www.whitecube.com


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