16.09.2017—12.11.2017
Portikus

The Mammal and the Sap
Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel

At Portikus, Daniel Dewar & Grégory Gicquel exclusively show works fashioned from the wood of oak and plane trees. In addition to freestanding works, a series of wall reliefs carved out of massive blocks of oak  are exhibited. Every work is preceded by a long process of discovery and planning. A digital model and a one-to-one sample in clay are produced before they start to carve the actual material. Each piece is made by hand, and with the assistance of mechanical or digital machinery.

The exhibition title, The Mammal and the Sap, refers to the choice of subjects for each individual work; the mammal as humankind, but also as the animal and, in this sense, the connections between the two, as well. The sap in the exhibition title refers here primarily to the life juices flowing through humans, animals and plants; the energy within us and everything. The sap once flowed through the wood that is now in the show, The Mammal and the Sap could also be read as the primitive relation between the sculptor and the material. One might also consider zoophiles, humans who are sexually attracted to animals. Historically also known as sodomy, the deviation from the social norm was first examined in the late nineteenth century, but can be traced as a documented phenomenon back to the Bronze Age. From cave paintings to early relief depictions in northern India to Japanese color woodcuts, there are numerous references to it in image production.  


Source : www.portikus.de