I felt like a complete perv wandering around Marc Quinn's latest exhibition at White Cube - must have been the giant tits, and cocks and vaginas on display. But I seemed to be rather in the minority in liking it, it has to be said. I liked the way it takes classical and religious sculptural constructs and established dialogues about the creation, beauty, sexual identity and defined sexual roles but turns them on their head - it's done in a brilliantly erudite way, so you're made to think about social, cultural and individual ideas of beauty - and how warped that can get. the transgender porn star couple (Buck and Alannah) stand moulded in silver holding hands in an Adam and Eve like pose; a pregnant man (formerly a woman) stands Virgin Mary like, cradling his stomach, his head demurely lowered, with a gentle smile on his lips; Catman's head - felinely tattooed and whiskered , rests on a plinth like a roman deity - gloriously hissing. but are these images really a warped replacement of older icons or deities? of course not, but it's an interesting thing to play around with. .
The body as canvas is a remarkable thing - moulded and shaped by it's owners (is that even what they are?) as these very sculptures have been. it's people making art out of themselves. if indeed it is art. it's difficult to say whether Quinn thinks so. the fluidity of sexual identity and the mutation of self to align the inner sexual identity with the outer. Yes, it's a freak show of sorts, but it's also a weird reflection of the times we live in, where grotesque extremes are becoming commonplace, more than commonplace - held up for our viewing pleasure.
The body as canvas is a remarkable thing - moulded and shaped by it's owners (is that even what they are?) as these very sculptures have been. it's people making art out of themselves. if indeed it is art. it's difficult to say whether Quinn thinks so. the fluidity of sexual identity and the mutation of self to align the inner sexual identity with the outer. Yes, it's a freak show of sorts, but it's also a weird reflection of the times we live in, where grotesque extremes are becoming commonplace, more than commonplace - held up for our viewing pleasure.
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the only thing i hated were the massive, blow-up images of orchids, but that's because i loathe them as a flower, i think they are unbelievable naff. still, i did appreciate their technicolour relevance here - the naturalness of their bi-genderness: labial, clitoral and phallic all at once. if they can do it, why can't we?
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Marc Quinn White Cube, N1 (020 7930 5373, whitecube.com) and runs until June 26.
