The_Cosmic

THE COSMIC ONION

India Dewar

8-22 JUNE 2013

PRIVATE VIEW THURSDAY 6 JUNE

SUBWAY GALLERY'S 7th BIRTHDAY

COSMIC ONION No1 2012-13 oil on cotton on board 35 x 40 cm

THE COSMIC ONION is India Dewar’s first solo show since graduating at City & Guilds in 2012. Her work engages with the symbiosis of art and science, drawing on recent discoveries in particle and astrophysics, whilst contemplating their place in popular perception. Through metaphor and playful use of material, she creates something whimsical, bordering on absurd. In doing so, she reveals the eminence of science in the everyday and provides an alternate outlet for scientific theory through her art.

Dewar employs traditional techniques such as domestic handicraft and makes reference to religious iconography; artistic practices that she associates with existential comfort. This process of transition from the celestial to a terrestrial setting in her art brings a clarity and tangibility to concepts which exists in the boundaries between the imaginary and the real.

Through historic notions of devotion, idolatry and ritual, the artworks pay homage to the tireless research and innovations of scientists who work in the realm of truth, proof and doubt, coupled with their relentless self-revision. As Dewar says: “We come so close to touching the true texture of reality then a new discovery is made, a crack appears and another layer of the cosmic onion is peeled back”.

Dewar’s new exhibition at the Subway Gallery probes at what it is that separates humanity from ‘the real’, as targeted by science. It is a creative exploration into the consumption of knowledge and how a deeper understanding of physics can lead to profound reconfigurations in our understanding of ourselves.

read: ARTSWRAP