Installation flyer
2006
21 x 29.4 cm
Printed paper
A box sits in the centre of an otherwise empty gallery. On a closer inspection the box contains a pile of red t-shirts emblazoned with the slogan souvenir of a meaningless event. Plastic packaging and empty beer bottles, the detritus of a gathering are the cues that suggest the viewer has just missed some sort of happening. Brian Reeds work incorporates text from a variety of sources, ranging from religious pamphlets, advertising, packaging and political propaganda. Words combine to create chains of unresolved narratives that are often ambiguous, contradictory, grand and at times pathetic. Works can take their form as large-scale tableaux, forming three-dimensional statements such as Bingo Jesus, Underage Sale or perhaps Double Happiness. Lo-fi materials such as cardboard and MDF are layered with house hold gloss to give an initial appearance of machine fabrication, that upon inspection yields quickly to a wonky hand made aesthetic. In this performative installation Reeds artwork takes its form as a proposition, with the viewer being invited to witness and also remove a physical souvenir of the four day situation (one size fits all, 160gsm cotton). The Viewer is implicated as a Performer in Reeds installation, and ultimately the any outcome of Reeds work will be directed by the participants.