by Mhairi Graham
Cosmographia is the latest collaboration between artists Rachel Cattle and Steve Richards. The duo present a mish-mash of quirky and abstruse esotericism stemming from popular culture and historical artefact; a recurrence of implicit and resonating symbolism, in a film that takes its title from the 16th century encyclopaedic work of cartographer Sebastian Munster
With Cattle and Richards, the audience can expect something dark, mysterious and altogether arbitrate, exploring philosophical, mythological and obscure ideas of folklore, the paranormal, time, space and memory, against the dramatic theatrics of an operatic soundtrack.
A trajectory of arcane, theoretical ideas that range from the Renaissance to the modern day, presenting a diverse range of historical and contemporary notions that include the work and imagery of Stanley Kubrick and Kenneth Anger, along with futurist designer Buckminster Fuller. This dabbles in folklore, popular culture and the avant garde, suggesting perhaps how such iconic imagery predicts our identity.
All this plays alongside the charming simplicity of Cattle's graphite, monochrome pencil drawings, which feature a repetitive maze of collaged motifs and scribbles, altogether providing something that sits in the cusp between fragility and horror; seclusion and latitude.
The presentation of Cosmographia coincides with another project under the Cattle and Richards umbrella: Same Old Scene. An enthralling production in conjunction with the collective, Destroy All Monsters, titled after the Roxy Music song. Cattle's graphite fantasies are presented as cardboard cut-outs, animated by lo-fi aesthetics. They dance across the screen, engineered by an intervening hand. The puppeteer, normally hidden from view, becomes an intrinsic feature of the piece. Inspired by Hollywood films, popular music and cultural memory, this DIY production is a charming and nostalgic nod towards childhood feelings and fantasies.
Cosmographia is a multi-stratum of quirks and turns; an emotionally charged piece that is both delicate and somewhat haunting, resolving in a condensed kaleidoscope of animated menace, precision and childlike charm. Flux caught up with Rachel and Steven to hear more about the exhibition:
First off, what is Cosmographia about?
Those moments when you pick up a thread or go through a wardrobe or a mirror to a whole other/new world... or one that is a wholly new perception of the ordinary/usual world.
Cosmographia as a title takes its name from the work of cartoonist Sebastian Munster. What drew you towards his work? Is there any reference to his map work within the piece?
Munster's C17th cartography included hybrid/imagined creatures. His boundaries of what was real and what wasn't were quite different and unusual... as if the 'imagined' world really did live among us and that we might see it if we explored enough. Maps are a general part of this, how to find the buried treasure map or hidden kingdom is always a favourite... perhaps also finding out what were the supposed boundaries and what lay beyond them. Maps uncover the hidden. We're also quite fond of attempts to map human psychology/emotions/behaviour.
Much of your work appears inspired by modern life and popular culture. Where do you look to seek inspiration?
Inspiration comes from wide sources, as much from the records we discovered as teenagers to finding out about historical or modern collaborations in music/fashion/film/philosophy which at the time led to some creative achievement, however famous or obscure that might be.
The involvement of the motif from 'The Shining' is sure to provide an underlying element of horror and menace. The Shining also provides haunting references to slaughter, holocaust and even interpretations of fairytales. What was your intention when involving such motifs?
The film is not in the horror 'genre' but we wanted a certain sense of foreboding concerning the idea of being trapped in 'patterns' of which we are little aware. We were interested by Kubrick's sense of atmosphere. In fairytales there's often the idea of people being rescued by having certain special tools or objects to help them and the film speculates on this.
What inspires you about Kenneth Anger's work? Do his occult and paranormal interests feature within Cosmographia?
We're drawn to his sense of eeriness and wonderment and strangeness. For instance Anger's 'Rabbit's Moon' draws on theatrical tradition, occult practices and pop music to become a scary/funny fairytale. The occult or esoteric makes use of and highlights the importance of allegory. In Cosmographia we've tried to capture a little of that.
Your work is very symbolic. What are the main themes or ideas that you aim to present, or is it something individual to the spectator?
It has to be individual to the spectator but we were looking at parallels between and symbols shared by historical and contemporary art movements, esoteric ideas and myth. Another symbol - the mirror, is connected with the disparate nature of our own interior lives. Also there is symbolism connected with escape or the desire to escape the prison of patterns not of our own making.
The hand-drawn aesthetic of the production gives it an almost childlike quality. How come you chose to work in this media?
The hand drawn aesthetic is connected with spontaneity. We want that childlike quality, in a way, to remind ourselves and the spectator of something more 'essential' or beneath the exterior of things.
How long have you been working together? What attracts you to one another's work and ideas?
We've been working together for quite a few years though we talked about working together for even longer. We share quite a few formative influences in music/pop culture and seem to respond similarly to the same aesthetic. So yes, there's a shared aesthetic, political and philosophical outlook and the desire to communicate from and about them.
Is Cosmographia directed towards a particular audience?
We want it to be for everyone. Some people will, I guess, be a little entertained by it or even dislike it but that's ok. It's for them too. Hopefully some people will make something of the symbolism and investigate further.
What reaction do you hope or expect the audience to gain from Cosmographia?
Whatever they choose.
Cosmographia by Steve Richards and Rachel Cattle is at Transition Gallery, 25a Regent Studios, 8 Andrews Road, London, E8 4QN until 21 February 2010.
www.transitiongallery.co.uk
photography Damian Griffiths