Installation view of As below so above, 2020 - 21 and Lost in Place, 2020
WHATIFTHEWORLD is pleased to present Chris Soal’s solo exhibition, As below so above.
In this body of work, the viewer’s experience is considered in relation to the monumental scale of these works. Their immersive scale prompts a phenomenological connection between conceptual engagement and bodily interaction. Soal connects, both visually and thematically, the intestinal or cerebral twists of the bottle top works with the exhibition’s title, which is an inversion of the saying, ‘As above, so below’.
In this body of work, the viewer’s experience is considered in relation to the monumental scale of these works. Their immersive scale prompts a phenomenological connection between conceptual engagement and bodily interaction. Soal connects, both visually and thematically, the intestinal or cerebral twists of the bottle top works with the exhibition’s title, which is an inversion of the saying, ‘As above, so below’.
Soal considers smaller systems such as the human body in relation to the larger universe — both physical and spiritual — and how these ‘worlds’ are interconnected. The self being a microcosm of the community, and a toothpick being a humble unit that, when collectivised, forms the whole artwork. It also reflects his intuitive working process, which stems from somewhere in-between the gut and the brain.
As below so above, 2020 - 2021
Discarded Beer Bottle Caps threaded onto Electric Fencing Cable, held in Polurethane Sealant on Board
Dimensions variable
Approximately 370 x 260 x 240 cm
Lost in place, 2020
Discarded Beer Bottle Caps threaded onto Electric Fencing Cable, held in Polurethane Sealant on Board
178 x 178 x 6 cm
Installation view of Mother, 2021 and Phoenix, 2020
Mother, 2021
Bamboo and Birch Wood Toothpicks, held in Polyurethan Sealant on Ripstop Fabric and Board
270 x 400 x 35 cm
Phoenix, 2020
Burnt and Unburnt Bamboo and Birch Wood Toothpicks, held in Polyurethan Sealant on Ripstop Fabric and Board
90 x 125 x 18 cm
Installation view of All That We Can’t Leave Behind, 2021 and Axis Mundi, 2021
All That We Can’t Leave Behind, 2021
Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete Relief Cast, Steel
215 x 20 cm Each
Axis Mundi, 2021
Birch Wood, Concrete, Steel
170 x 100 x 110 cm
As below so above, 2020
Discarded Beer Bottle Caps threaded onto Electric Fencing Cable, held in Polurethane Sealant on Board
240 x 110 x 60 cm
ADDITIONAL WORKS
Vicissitude, 2020
Bamboo and Birch Wood Toothpicks, held in Polyurethan Sealant on Ripstop Fabric and Board
168 x 103 x 20 cm
Spolia, 2020
Discarded Beer Bottle Caps threaded onto Electric Fencing Cable, held in Polurethane Sealant on Board
150 x 73 x 15 cm
Nowhere to go but everywhere, 2021
Discarded Beer Bottle Caps threaded onto Electric Fencing Cable, held in Polurethane Sealant on Board
134 x 134 x 8 cm
Within and without, 2021
Discarded Beer Bottle Caps threaded onto Electric Fencing Cable, held in Polurethane Sealant on Board
136 x 136 x 6 cm
︎ EXIBITION VIDEO
︎ PANEL DISCUSSION with Phillippa Tumubweinee and Gerhard Marx
︎ EXIBITION REVIEW on Artthrob by Ashraf Jamal
︎ ARTICLE on Bubblegumclub by Nkgopoleng Moloi
︎ PANEL DISCUSSION with Phillippa Tumubweinee and Gerhard Marx
︎ EXIBITION REVIEW on Artthrob by Ashraf Jamal
︎ ARTICLE on Bubblegumclub by Nkgopoleng Moloi