Dust to Dust

At the heart of Dust to Dust is a dialogue between the organic and the corporeal. Robert Mapplethorpe's silver gelatin prints of leaves, more portraits than still lives, stand in the glory of their imperfections under the stark, unforgiving scrutiny of his light. Created towards the end of the American photographer's life, the images embody the tension between life and death with their sensuous, erotic beauty tainted by mortality. The blooms of the Tiger Lily (1987) are caught on the edge of perfection before decay sets in, echoing the memento mori of Baroque vanitas. The wilting forms communicate deep poignancy, reminding us of the inescapable reality of the death of all living forms, the impermanence of the flowers heightened in the juxtaposition of the artifice of their smooth, milky container.

Phoebe Cummings' clay installations, dystopian ornaments of a future anthropology, are a living testament to impermanence, blending English Paganism and the aesthetic excess of Baroque and Rococo design. Flowers, Birds and Fantasies (2024) invades the exhibition space with botanical renderings sprawling from the walls and gathering in the middle of the floor in the impermanent, calculated botanical chaos of clay arrangement. Created from raw, unfired clay, Cummings' works are made to degrade, to collapse back into the earth from which they came, dust to dust. 

"Cummings' practice is extreme in her use of clay, and her larger installations make no concessions to what collectors may or may not need," the curators say. "It's a commitment and dedication to her chosen material."  This unwavering devotion to the fragility of the medium lends Cummings' work a performative quality as the sculptures slowly dissolve and decay, embodying the impermanence that underscores the ephemeral nature of all things. 

The miniature screen, discreetly positioned in the corner of the exhibition space, invites the viewers to lean in closer, offering a glimpse into Cummings' process as she shapes wet clay petals against the skin of her hands and arms. The living cells of her skin imprint themselves upon the clay, capturing the motion of life on its surface — a surface that will inevitably deteriorate over time.

In contrast, there is an imposing quality to Abakanowicz's Abakan 29 (1968), a monumental, abstracted sisal and wool sculpture that hangs as a shadow of the past, “a living kin of an ancient lineage”, as Hettie Judah puts it in the text accompanying the exhibition. "The slate colour of a wet winter woodland", the enveloping, womb-like form hangs suspended, offering both refuge and a reminder of the metamorphoses that all living things undergo. The Polish artist, whose work has been noted for tapping into a "dark vision of primal myth," engages with themes of birth, life, and death through the use of organic, fibre-based materials. The woven, shroud-like form haunted by the body suggests both protection and exposure, reinforcing the exhibition's exploration of the vulnerability of the body, even in its absence.

Ultimately, in bringing these three artists together, Dust to Dust offers a contemplative space to examine the dialogue between organic forms and human fragility, while the material richness of the works themselves provides a tactile reminder of the power of the organic. "Themes of impermanence, decay, and renewal will always resonate in artists' making," note Cole and Motion. "There are inherent histories running deeply within their chosen materials, and I guess impermanence, decay, and renewal are inescapable realities."

As Motion and Cole suggest, viewers are encouraged to find their own meanings within the works, whether as a quiet reflection on mortality or as an active interrogation of our place within the natural world. "We hope viewers find beauty, tenderness and fragility in the show," they add.

For a generation often caught up in the digital, Dust to Dust is a poignant, evocative reminder that life's beauty is inherently breakable and temporary. "When we digest so much online and on screen, there is a refreshing calm and stillness in considering the beauty of the organic." observe the curators, adding that the exhibition offers a much-needed counterpoint to the frenetic pace of modern life.