What’s that thing, Sarah Lucas? Part two

As part of CtC’s coverage of the 56th Venice Biennale we are continuing with a series of experimental object descriptions written during the show Sarah Lucas: SITUATION Absolute Beach Man Rubble which ran from the 2nd of October to the 15th of December 2013 at the Whitechapel Gallery, London. Sarah Lucas is currently representing the United Kingdom at the British Pavilion with her installation I SCREAM DADDIO. The second in our series is from Amy E. Brown.

Sheltering behind the breeze block dividers of the room, the table sits, at first, somewhat demure in its surroundings. The material is unclear, appearing metallic in nature, a cold sterile surface across which the words “Bitch 1995” have been daubed in hastily scrawled marker pen. A judgement, perhaps.

The table is not in fact metal but wooden, porous, absorbing that which had been present before. The gloss of the white paint is a mask or protective layer. The t-shirt stretched taut across one end and the ample, amorous fruit drooping so low that it seems to strain to reach the ground beneath. The gaping neckline reveals the décolletage in all its formidable glory, enticing you to lean in and perhaps catch sight of what else lies beneath the cotton t-shirt.

The symmetry of the kipper, encased in plastic wrap to preserve it or to create invisible protection from outside forces dangles helplessly from the opposite end. There’s a sort of grotesque, enticing quality in its shape.

A figure prone, the words in place at the lower back. Tramp stamp, slag tag, marked at the exact point in time this person, this woman, girl, became her alter ego: the Bitch.

Amy E. Brown

Featured image: Sarah Lucas, Bitch 1995, Wood table, cotton t-shirt, melons, kipper