PSYCHO GEOLOGY, explores a fictional sequence of events based on certain socio-economical, geological and cultural elements that have made west Cornwall the place that it is. Fox’s latest body of work presents a science fictional depiction of the past, one that references the colloquial approach to archiving areas of Neolithic Heritage; west Cornwall’s unique geological makeup and its sprawling industrial scars.
The fictional story centres around Cornwall’s unusually high levels of radon gas, and how this scientific anomaly acts as a catalyst for new and unusual behaviours. In Neolithic times this resulted in stone circles and the embryonic cultivation of rituals that have since developed into folklore, while in the Post-industrial era it led to the birth of surf culture, which can be seen as Cornish futurism in reality.
The exhibition includes three distinct series of artworks that not only recount this tale through their imagery but also act as fictional artefacts amalgamating elements from historic folklore, surfing subculture imagery and Cornwall’s post-industrial landscape. Hybrid wall-based sculptures embed miniature landscape models and faux surfboard stickers within welded aluminium structures, while futuristic, psychedelic tablets created from recycled surfboards reference how Cornish surf culture was intertwined with the progressive British subcultures of the 1980s. Finally, Fox’s digital paintings, UV printed onto reflective materials and housed in aluminium painted frames, play with layering to suggest how histories can equally obscure and create cultural meaning in Cornwall.
The physical artworks are accompanied by a complementary soundscape, a publication produced in collaboration with Foolscap Editions and an essay from writer and curator Georgia Stephenson.
The fictional story centres around Cornwall’s unusually high levels of radon gas, and how this scientific anomaly acts as a catalyst for new and unusual behaviours. In Neolithic times this resulted in stone circles and the embryonic cultivation of rituals that have since developed into folklore, while in the Post-industrial era it led to the birth of surf culture, which can be seen as Cornish futurism in reality.
The exhibition includes three distinct series of artworks that not only recount this tale through their imagery but also act as fictional artefacts amalgamating elements from historic folklore, surfing subculture imagery and Cornwall’s post-industrial landscape. Hybrid wall-based sculptures embed miniature landscape models and faux surfboard stickers within welded aluminium structures, while futuristic, psychedelic tablets created from recycled surfboards reference how Cornish surf culture was intertwined with the progressive British subcultures of the 1980s. Finally, Fox’s digital paintings, UV printed onto reflective materials and housed in aluminium painted frames, play with layering to suggest how histories can equally obscure and create cultural meaning in Cornwall.
The physical artworks are accompanied by a complementary soundscape, a publication produced in collaboration with Foolscap Editions and an essay from writer and curator Georgia Stephenson.
PSYCHO GEOLOGY
Independently curated at Anderson Contemporary.
Independently curated at Anderson Contemporary.
