25 April 09
Casino - Pinocchio, Venice and the bordello!Mutated toys, dead Sparrows in knitted capes and over-sized panting body parts... welcome to the surprisingly accessible world of Annette Messager.
Annette Messager (born 1943) is widely regarded as one of Europe's most important contemporary artists. This show at the Hayward demonstrates how she takes everyday materials, such as soft toys, fabrics and photographs, and transforms them into extraordinary artworks. Projects from the last four decades are on show, from intimate pieces of the 1970s to visually stunning installations produced over the last 15 years.
This is our third audience with the marvelous work of Annette Messager. Our first was during a visit to the 2005 Venice Biennale, where we saw the Lion d'Or winning Casino installation. The second was during a visit to the Pompidou in 2007 where we enjoyed a larger collection of her creative output - The huge lower level hall installation had to be seen to be believed - marvelous theatrical art at its best!
Articulated-disarticulated - mad cow disease given the Messager treatment - Contorted characters manipulated by strings
Inflating, Deflating - 28 elements, painted parachute fabric, computerised motors
9 out of 10This is our third audience with the marvelous work of Annette Messager. Our first was during a visit to the 2005 Venice Biennale, where we saw the Lion d'Or winning Casino installation. The second was during a visit to the Pompidou in 2007 where we enjoyed a larger collection of her creative output - The huge lower level hall installation had to be seen to be believed - marvelous theatrical art at its best!
Articulated-disarticulated - mad cow disease given the Messager treatment - Contorted characters manipulated by strings
Inflating, Deflating - 28 elements, painted parachute fabric, computerised motors