STRAYLIGHT CAVERN at Cell Project Space

Upon entering the door of the gallery I was immediately confronted by what looked to be a large ice cave. The cave, I was told, housed the work of ten artists selected by Richard Priestly, whose curatorial approach involves creating an environment or scenario within which artists can exhibit work. Crudely constructed from cloth, plastic and clingfilm, Priestly’s ‘world,’ is influenced by the sci-fi novel, ‘Neuromancer,’ from which the rather cool exhibition title, ‘Straylight Cavern,’ was taken. The overall effect struck me as a sort of kitsch sci-fi stage set.

The work that lurks within is varied but there is an underlying correlation that is undoubtedly due to the space that the curator has invented. Sculptures echo the spacey interior, like Jonathan Baldock’s playful but darkly alien busts made from sour dough, which are encased within the cave walls. Also inhabiting the space are coral-like forms by Aisling Hedgecock, which look like they could have been plucked from a low-budget film set. Angelo Plessas offers an abstract take on computer games with his retro animation that reflects the virtual-reality of the exhibition space. The virtual world is explored in a similar fashion in Rick Buckley’s digital film. He transforms banal everyday objects into sci-fi landscapes and monuments through nifty camera work.

These pieces appeared to grow out of the space they inhabit, resulting in a body of work that is both separate and coherent through Priestly’s scenario. ‘Straylight Cavern,’ rethinks the nature of the gallery space as a blank canvas, forming a fascinating relationship between the artists’ personal vision and the curator’s fantasy. We are left wondering just who has intervened upon who. Either way, ‘Straylight Cavern,’ is an enjoyable and intriguing show with Priestly offering some rather interesting curatorial methods to ponder over long after leaving the cave.

Andree Latham