An expansive and bewildering exhibition, with a wide range of techniques, approaches and mediums. I took away a couple of things from this:
Things that are used and loved/have a history/impacted by time – Kelley is very good at picking up on or examining the impact a human has on an item or an experience. The best example is his much-misunderstood child’s toys. For the viewer, it’s so hard to look at objects like this and see the love without projecting concerns about an artist’s childhood. But these things are containers of emotion, one of the most meaningful relationships a child can have with an inanimate object.
The other example which worked for me here was the big gallery of black and white photos of locations which mattered to Kelley, but would have absolutely no relevance to anyone else. All you can think about are what kinds of locations would be the equivalent for you.
The other two pieces I enjoyed were the sweary banners, stark and aggressive: unapologetic. And his pink curtain from the ExtraCurricular Activity section – so much drama, unsettling, awe-inspiring and really beautiful.
hannahbailey.org 