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| 'Terra Incognita' is the first of three shows that form Parade,
an initiative by Nottingham's Angel Row Gallery to showcase the work
of artists based in the East Midlands. 185 artists from the region
submitted entries, from which just 27 were selected to participate
across the three exhibitions. Each show has been curated by a guest
curator, and for 'Terra Incognita', it was Autograph ABP's Indra
Khanna behind the wheel . . . [Mik Godley's] large monochrome acrylic painting 'The Corridor' (2006) depicts a strange exterior architecture of labyrinthine roofless brick walls with trees growing throughout, as if Herculaneum were built of concrete and converted into an arboretum. A path up the centre of the canvas suggests we are visitors to an abandoned cemetery or military complex - a network of bunkers, offices, laboratories or prison cells. In 'The Pipe' (2007) a tunnel to carry effluence or for irrigation emerges in dense undergrowth, and to imagine that it is part of the same secret rural complex would not be an unreasonable guess. It turns out that these images are from a body of work that Godley has produced exploring his family history, which he traced to the once German, now Polish city of Silesia - site of the largest German bunker and military headquarters of the Second World War. This artist's terra incognita is a distant wasteland fused with jigsaw pieces of his family's past. Godley's research has been secondary rather than primary, using the Internet to locate information and images about the area and its history. That this has been a digital process, filtered through pixels, is reflected in the fact that the artist's canvases are painted with distinctive, overlapping rectilinear brushmarks both opaque and in various degrees of translucency. When viewed close-up they are harder to decipher, coming gradually into focus as the viewer steps backwards. The same technique is used to great effect in Godley's series of related studies for portraits, including a dead soldier, a young woman and a body builder. An impressive combination of methodical observation and technical draughtsmanship matched by a mature understanding of the medium and just the right amount of spontaneity and freedom give these studies a real sense of urgency, energy and vitality. Matt Price Matt Price is a writer and editor based in Birmingham and London. He started his career as an editor for Hans Ulrich Obrist before being appointed Managing Editor of Flash Art International, Milan. He has since worked as Deputy Editor of ArtReview and Publications Manager at Serpentine Gallery, and is currently working on a variety of freelance projects |
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