Compelling visuals, underscored by an unnerving message, can often be found in the work of Rachel Rose. The American artist has had a successful two years, exhibiting at Frieze, the Whitney and Hayward off-site. Her newest animation Lake Valley is currently showing at London’s Pilar Corrias.
Lake Valley is the only work in a sparse gallery space, complimenting the video’s message of alienation. The animation begins by building a sense of time and place; a rapid digital collage engulfing the screen. A psychedelic landscape takes shape as characters are introduced: a lonely rabbit-like pet and its disinterested owners. Set within an oversized suburban household, the narrative follows a well-trodden theme within children’s literature, abandonment. Left alone, the creature wanders off in search of belonging.
Each frame is a montage of sliding shapes and overlaid swathes of colour. Materiality outwits image, as Arthur Rackham’s billowing petticoats shape-shift into drooping petals and Medusa-like plastic bags are used to illustrate hair. Both the sound and moving-images are transient and abstract, like racing thoughts.
Harnessing the potent power of fairytale, Lake Valley leads us down a familiar path. With its uplifting and surreal moments haunted by dark twists, the work delivers a subtle moralistic message. A meditation on the impact of humanity on surrounding nature, Rose highlights the environmental damage that the human race has caused and perpetuated, from a perspective other than our own.
‘Lake Valley’ is showing at Pilar Corrias until 29 September. All images: Rachel Rose, Lake Valley (still), 2016. HD Video, 8’25″. Courtesy: the artist and Pilar Corrias Gallery, London. Photo: Damian Griffiths
