I am curious about the idea of an angelic self, the individual in a perfected (but potentially boring) state. There's a James Tate poem where in response to a statement about the 'chosen few sitting at the right hand of God' he says, 'Doing what? Just sitting?'
Reflecting the artist's multi-media practice, the exhibition will display wood carvings alongside an animation playback and works on paper. The group of wall-mounted engravings on wood expand on the artist's search for balance in nature. The series forms the next iteration of engravings currently on display at the South London Gallery, celebrating his nomination as a Bloomberg New Contemporary in 2020. The hand-drawn animation will connect the narratives suggested in the wooden panels, and will unfold alongside its original paper slides.
How to resolve a creative act when every transformation leads to the destruction of the original? A tragicomic hammerhead man embodies the melancholy of loss while searching for newness. Orfeo carves like a river, finding an effortless path through storytelling and free thought. He describes his subjects as having 'appeared' without deliberation, characters oscillating between poles of hurt and care, melancholy and joy. Angels fall and wonder whether to be afraid, or if they are, in fact, flying.
