Genesis Belanger orchestrates mise-en-scene settings from twisting everyday objects into psychologically charged idiosyncrasies. Working in ceramics, cast-concrete sculpture, installation and painting, she employs the vocabulary of 1950s American advertising and explores contexts of liminal spaces such as hotel lobbies, supermarkets and waiting rooms. Absent bodies are present through pastel-toned twisted hands holding mouths, eyes landing in soup, fingers sprouting from bouquets of flowers, burgers, beauty products and half-smoked cigarettes. Bridging Pop art and Surrealism, Belanger’s objects and scenes narrate capitalist myths, with symbols of contemporary culture presented as seducing and uncanny. Satisfying in their smooth shapes and tender colour, the artist’s works translate the dissatisfaction and anxiety caused by consumerist culture and its power structures.
Written by Goldsmiths CCA ...
