Camille Blatrix’ machine-like sculptures are seemingly familiar yet alien in their futuristic appearance. Combining industrial manufacture with handmade craft and techniques, such as wood marquetry, they present themselves as artefacts encoded with personal and cultural references. The recognisable elements – a feather, cardboard boxes, a flower, production labels – intertwine with sleek surfaces and amorphous, novel shapes. Visually and conceptually, Blatrix’ works refer to a not-so-distant future, while the imagery of radios, ticket kiosks and phone booths refer a not- so-distant past. As a result, the works produce a dissociation with the present that is so slight it becomes uncanny. Contemplating on the nature of desire, labour and materiality, the artist’s sculptures are at once confusing and emotive, and immersive in their ability to create narratives that belong in their estrangement.
Written by Goldsmiths CCA ...
