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Visual Artists' News Sheet | September – October 2021
Exhibition Profile
Mary-Ruth Walsh, Nutrient Bright Bodies, 2020, detail, Highlanes Gallery; image by Eugene Langan Photography, courtesy the artist and Highlanes Gallery.
THE EXHIBITION, ‘SKIN DEEP’, by artist Mary-Ruth Walsh, explores
Skin Deep DR YVONNE SCOTT REFLECTS ON MARY-RUTH WALSH’S TOURING EXHIBITION.
a crucial aspect of the human body and how it engages with the world. Walsh examines the desire for surface perfection: of the skin in the case of humans, and of the glossy veneers in urban structures. She selects the kinds of locations where adaptability rather than permanence is the priority – for example transport hubs or commercial outlets. She notes how those materials that weather over time and gain character (like stone or timber) have given way to the more immediate, convenient surfaces that can be quickly replaced if damaged or dated. The artist, in her work, considers whether a similar objective is at play in the human body; while maturing skin may signify humanity, her imagery addresses a tendency to resort to significant measures, from cosmetics to surgery, in an attempt to arrest the inevitable process of aging. While the pursuit of surface physical perfection, in humans or in buildings, seem to be entirely different materially, the show identifies compelling parallels. Walsh’s focus is on the unnatural level of attention she feels is given to the thin veneer that separates internal workings from external appearances. The show displays a range of individual artworks, each addressing an aspect of this overall concept, but which collectively read as a coherent installation. The works are provocative and open to interpretation, allowing the viewer to bring their own experience and interpretations into play. For a number of years, Walsh has been exploring visual similarities between packaging and buildings; she utilises discarded containers – for all kinds of objects, from mobile phones to cosmetic products – as models for her meticulous drawings, or as moulds for her plaster casts. In her composite images, relative size is somewhat ambiguous: a petrol station, say, might be overshadowed by a drawing of a translucent plasticised carton. While almost surreal, Walsh is not so much concerned to evoke the illogical pairings of objects (as might be seen in the metaphysical work of artists
