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Review Nov 21 2008 « | »
Mondongo at Maddox Arts The first thing that struck me walking into this exhibition was the smell; the familiar but forgotten hum of......

Jon Openshaw

The first thing that struck me walking into this exhibition was the smell; the familiar but forgotten hum of Plasticine. Mondongo is a type of Argentine tripe stew, and this South American collective live up to their namesake by utilising a bizarre concoction of materials in their work. The primary material in this show is as the smell suggests, but feathers, shredded cloth and foodstuffs are thrown into the encrusted mix.

'Familiar but forgotten' actually describes the surreal dreamscapes on show here quite well, combining childlike memories with more a sinister edge. Each piece is made up of many thousands of tiny snakes or balls of vivid Plasticine, and the overall effect is disorientating, like Seurat on hallucinogens. The malleable materials also give the appearance of being on the move, or melting (more than once I saw a fellow gallery goer leaning in to try and get their bearings, although this may have been the free wine).

In keeping with the playschool materials, there is a unifying fairytale narrative to the exhibition. This is much more Grimm than Disney however, and so we see a rotting corpse and oil pipeline in the grounds of a pink turreted castle, or red riding hood contorted with face obscured and legs akimbo as a man in wolf mask watches on. This has the potential to be a bit twee and knowing, but it is done with a humour and vigour that somehow carries it.

What comes across is that these three Argentine artists are having fun, keeping one foot firmly in the playground and taking Plasticine squidge-pots to their illogical extreme. They describe their creative process as being like 'three witches stirring it up in a cauldron', and this alchemy is getting international recognition (Comme Des Garcons has recently initiated a collaboration with the collective).

It is fitting that the exhibition is not static either, and Maddox Arts will be rotating the pieces on display throughout the duration. From what I saw though there is enough variety here to make it a worthwhile visit.

Mondongo runs from 21 November 2008 until 10 January 2009 at Maddox Arts, 52 Brook's Mews, London, W1K 4ED

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