Bikini By Tim Hawkinson (All Photos By Gail)
While I’m a bit “Late to the Ball, Cinderella” in getting these photos up — as the exhibit closed on April 23rd — I can’t resist sharing the amazing works of artist Tim Hawkinson. I first became aware of Hawkinson last summer, when my friend Evelyn raved about him to me in conversation, and since then he has become one of my favorite contemporary artists — particularly for his inventive and humorous kinetic sculptures. Pace Gallery recently hosted a very fun and eclectic retrospective of Tim Hawkinson’s work called Counterclockwise. For the work pictured above, Bikini (1993, reworked in 2014), Hawkinson wove electrical cords into this familiar object of clothing. Like other sculptures in this series (began in 1991, which also includes socks, shorts and a bra) Bikini maintains the original function of the extension chord; in this case, it powers Signature, the sculpture directly adjacent to it.
Please enjoy my favorite photos from the show!
Signature, 1993
Signature (1993) translates a sense of Hawkinson’s own being into a machine, giving life to a combination of working parts that continuously pens the artist’s signature onto slips of paper. Signature also records the passage of time, as endorsed sheets pile onto the gallery floor.
Signature, Detail Above and Below
Koruru
One of my favorite pieces in Counterclockwise is this gigantic Maori Mask, Koruru (2009), created from found objects from his home, such as soda bottles, egg cartons, pill bottles, foil, and vinyl. I love how it looks like some kind of gargantuan, mutant collage of car tail lights.
Koruru, Detail
Petrie
Recalling bio-morphic forms, or cellular structures, the loops and swirls in Petrie (1999) were created by attaching pens and pencils to a modified drill head. Beginning at the center of the paper, the image developed outwards, with continuous adjustments to the speed of the drill, causing variations in the ink and graphite marks. Hawkinson describes the process as “expanding though accretion, or as in the growth of a crystal.”
Petrie, Detail
Installation View with Laocoon (2004, Foreground)
Orrery, 2010
Orrery, the title referring to a mechanical model of the solar system, or of just the sun, earth, and moon, used to represent their relative positions and motions, is a sculpture which employs the circle as its main motif, and a symbol of time. The spinning wheel remains in constant motion, while a woman at a spinning wheel twists her head all the way around in circles. The rug is made of twelve concentric rings; each ring a photograph of a bicycle tire track made in the sand. Heavy.
World Clock, 2012
What looks like a rusty medicine cabinet housing typical toiletries and personal grooming objects is actually a timepiece called World Clock, which tracks global time zones with innocuous items like rotating pills in a bottle for Paris, or nail clippers for Sydney.
World Clock, Detail
Skinned Knee, 2009
Hawkinson’s six-foot tall sculpture of a disembodied skinned knee takes everyday objects and positions them in new contexts, shifting scale to create a morbid close up of bloodied flesh. Characteristic of the artist’s practice of reinventing materials, the frayed denim is rendered using blankets and strands from a mop head, with painted resin used as an analogue for skin.
Skinned Knee, Detail
If this post and photos have piqued your interest, you can learn more about Tim Hawkinson’s career and work at This Link!
All Photos taken at Pace Gallery on West 24th Street as par of the Counterclockwise Exhibit, Which has Now Closed.
This also looks like a huge Roaster Pan, amiright?
