19March2024

Entertainment Art Mumbo Jumbo at Whatiftheworld

Mumbo Jumbo at Whatiftheworld

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John Dunne's observation that "No man is an island, entire of itself" is generally accepted as the ubiquitous man-island metaphor.

Comparative association of people with islands is not uncommon - tales such as 'The Odyssey', 'Gulliver's Travels', 'The Tempest', 'Robinson Crusoe', and 'The Island of Dr. Moreau' all explore island ideologies. In psychology Jungian theory compares an individual's ego to the notion of an island. Contemporary psychoanalytic practice provides space for the individual to draw a picture of what one's own island looks like. Interpretative value is placed on these real and imagined islanded words, thoughts, and marks.  

Artist Michael Taylor has chosen to approach this exhibition as a playful exercise in describing the landscape of his 'island'.  

Not only is this body of work a return to large-scale drawing for Taylor, but also, a return to using narrative as a starting point for the image-making process. Devising a story, in the form of a poem, and working with a select number of preconceived titles, Taylor attempts to create a familiar metaphor for which to make drawings. The narrative shifts simultaneously between two chief protagonists - the hero, Mickey, and his ego, the island. Diving between character sketches the pictures illustrate an uncanny likeness of the two subjects.

Predominantly featuring fictional characters and imaginary spaces, Taylor's work brings together the visual languages of illustration and abstraction to challenge notions of representation and the interpretation of pictures.  

Mumbo Jumbo is on display at Whaitiftheworld Gallery,No1 Argyle St,Woodstock, until 1 December. Gallery hours are Tuesdays to Fridays 10:00am to 5:00pm,Saturdays 10:00am to 2:00pm