Laure Prouvost, Into all that is here, 2015. Courtesy of the artist and carlier/gebauer
Licking, sucking, panting, moaning: this is the soundtrack to Laure Prouvost’s solo exhibition “Dear dirty dark drink drift down deep droll (in her dole)” now showing at carlier | gebauer gallery. Prouvost’s multimedia world, accessed through the bookcase entitled “Granddad’s Library”, is a strategic highbrow collection comprising of poetry, art historical surveys and travelogues. It is the gateway to a corridor, plunged in darkness, in which the viewer and Prouvost’s personal histories first collide.
Laure Prouvost, Beak Branch, 2015. Courtesy of the artist and carlier/gebauer
With restored faculties, the audio emanating from the surreal and intimate video “Into all that is here” (2015) lures the viewer into its space. The seductive sonic richness is a semblance of erotic moans, eerie whistling, slurping and puckering mouths: the imagery is equally as sensual. Subterranean tunnelling that frames the narrative, along with fraught attempts to navigate through the unknown land using Google Maps.
Laure Prouvost, Dinner Party, 2015. Courtesy of the artist and carlier/gebauer
The film dramatically departs from the underground bewilderment, emerging finally into a lush, colour-saturated meadow. Flowers press together like two mouths, anonymous hands massage prosthetic limbs and sexual fantasy is conveyed through both rhythmic and abrupt jump cuts, spurting fountains, leaking tree sap and subtitles that read “it will be pure lust”.
Laure Prouvost, Egg Branch, 2015. Courtesy of the artist and carlier/gebauer
Laure Prouvost, Exhaust Branch, 2015. Courtesy of the artist and carlier/gebauer
Tunnelling back through the corridors and into the main exhibition room, the setting re-establishes its conventional white cube. Protruding branches jut out of the walls at disconcerting levels, each unique in the detritus they display. Prosthetic breasts, mirrors, exhaust pipes, mobile phones and egg shells are all attached like mutated fungi. These organic elements, apparently spilling out from the film’s frame are affixed at odd angles. Tactile objects, that with names such as “Mouth branch” (2015), “Trumpet branch” (2015) and “Communication branch” (2015) compel the viewer to reach out, owing to the tantalisingly low positioning of some.
Laure Prouvost, Granddad’s library, 2015. Courtesy of the artist and carlier/gebauer
The third room, comprising two sculptures that are smaller counterparts of “Into all that is here”, present pared down versions of the main video’s imagery. “Sexy Shovel” (2015) features lactating breasts, fountains and aroused moans. “GPS Shovel” (2015), is a more focused exploration of the Google Map app that attempts to navigate its fraught user. They frame one large wall flanked by the three-panel tapestry “Dinner Party” (2015) which was inspired by the traditional craft founded in Flanders. Conveying a raucous scene – including Prouvost in her multiple guises – we see our protagonist engage in bizarre and comedic conversations with herself. Thoughts are expressed in various open-ended statements such as “I am boiling for you” and “The cat will clean it up”. Such grotesque imagery, which rouses feelings of nausea and discomfort is superseded by the depiction of dirty dishes and taxidermy to further stomach-turning effect, referencing Julia Kristeva’s notion of “the abject”. Such chaos, claustrophobia and curious horror culminates in an unhinged scene where Prouvost is finally unable to disassociate herself from the other.
Text by Abigail Toll
“Laure Prouvost: Dear dirty dark drink drift down deep droll (in der dole)” is on show at carlier | gebauer until 28 October
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