Luke Harby - Work - Mimic-Variable

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With this project what are we seeing exactly? Lots of yellow, some silver and green cones, mirrors, mylar and other 'soft' reflective surfaces, a prism here and there, the odd clamp. At first glance this would appear to be a still life project, but something else is going on. In 'Mimic variable' Luke Harby is showing us some of the workings of these images, an insight into their mechanics and manufacture. A sort of still life stepped back a bit, or taken from the side of the stage. Maybe we are seeing the offcuts from some strange advertising shoot, or perhaps the peculiar images from an old science text book. The photographs look casual on first inspection almost as if they contain some lazy 'mistakes', but everything has been meticulously thought out. Everything is exactly where it should be.

This body of work, as with most of Luke's projects, feels conceptual, we see a consistently sober, laconic, utilitarian aesthetic. This creates a paradox. Concepts are cold and cerebral but in his work we notice something warm and tactile, there is a genuine affection for the objects in these images. A sensual geometry that threads them together.

As a side note and perhaps we will never know as to why Luke chose this palette, yellow paintings are much harder to sell than paintings made with other colours.

Serge Vessel. 2022.

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