Cathy Wilkes’ sculpture, Non-Verbal Installation, earned her a nomination for the prestigious Turner Prize. According to Wilkes, the sculpture was influenced by Walter Sickert’s 1927 painting titled Lazarus Breaks His Fast, a self-portrait in which Sickert depicts himself as Lazarus consuming a bowl of porridge that serves as the first meal following his resurrection.
On first impression the the two artworks appear unrelated, Sickert’s impressionistic painting is nothing like Wilkes’ stark and precise sculptural environment. The chosen subject matter appears grossly divergent, in the first we have a scene depicting an old man eating porridge while in the second, half naked mannequins wander aimlessly amongst their scattered belongings. Despite the apparent differences, closer inspection reveals thematic similarities that link the creative intentions of both artists.
In Lazarus Breaks His Fast we are presented with a variety of elements evoking personal space; a quaint breakfast table set for one, a spoon, a dinner napkin tucked beneath the chin. In the intimate setting we feel as if we are imposing. The feeling in part arises from the fact that Sickert paints Lazarus looking away from us, he appears completely unaware of being observed. The lack of acknowledgment creates a voyeuristic condition, we are not joining him at the table we are observing him. The perspective of the painting reinforces this impression, the dimensionality of the room has been flattened, the lack of spatial depth between the foreground and background places us nearly on top of the subject. Along with the manipulation of depth Sickert also cleverly positions our vantage point slightly above the scene, our elevated view serves to alienate us from the table and Lazarus, the technique also suggests we are in a position of dominance.
Wilkes’ sculpture pays visual homage to Sickert’s work through placement of a bowl filled with porridge near one of the mannequin’s feet. The device however shares little more than a superficial connection with the original painting. Where Wilkes’ work more genuinely begins to align itself thematically with Sickert’s is the mannequin’s state of undress, the nakedness implies vulnerability as well as intimacy. The vulnerability parallels Sickert’s placement of the observer above the subject, in both works we find ourselves in a position of dominance. Furthering our sense of overbearing, Wilkes, like Sickert, also diverts the subject’s attention away from us, each mannequin stands facing a canvas, their view directed at the back rather than the painted front, implying the obstruction is for the benefit of the observer rather than the observed.
Along with the mannequins the work includes a variety of personal belongings strewn haphazardly around the room; a stroller, a television, each recalling the personal space developed by the breakfast table, spoon and napkin in Sickert’s work. The inclusion of the belongings in combination with the mannequin’s nudity reinforces our impression that we have entered in to a deeply personnal space. The fact we are able to freely explore while the subject is unable to see us drives home the point that the self-portrait is a one way window, it is observed while the artist remains blind to the observation. All works of art are of this nature, they are examined by us the viewer from the outside looking in, while the artist who has invested themselves in the work remains incapable of reciprocating the observation. What distinguishes Wilke’s work however and what ultimatley makes it so engaging is that it has the ability to make us feel this, as observers of art we are always voyeurs, but in Wilke’s sculpture, as in Sickert’s painting, we are made uncomfortably conscious of this fact.
Wilkes’ Bio and Gallery
