Concord

Abstract

Concord premiered in Justene Williams’ standout 2018 solo exhibition Project Dead Empathy at Sarah Cottier Gallery. The sculptural work is a collage of distorted and elongated mannequin parts. Concord reflects the eccentric energy and provisional feel of Williams’ well-known live and video performances that include elaborate makeshift sets as well as costumes that warp the body. With its colourful mismatched segments, the mannequin appears as though haphazardly assembled from odd found parts. Its strange, elongated limbs add a sense of the uncanny, and suggest a disconnect between the tangible space of the gallery it occupies and the virtual world conjured by the VR headset strapped to its face. This work encapsulates Williams’ unique talent for transforming familiar materials in humorous, uncanny and compelling ways and presents a playful, yet candid portrait of human interaction today – slightly fractured by our technology-driven, high-consumerist times.