The Thousands

On my computer I have a folder labelled “ANIMALS FIGHTING”. I guess I’m a sicko. I really like photos of animals – especially dogs or horses – tearing into each other. Sinew, blood and pathos. Richard Lewer paintings have a bit of that kind of visceral ugliness. A bit Sidney Nolan, but also a bit funny. Tony Garifalakis is a bit funny and dark too. I like his latest series Trash Talk – a bunch of drop sheets pinned to the wall with the fold lines still visible, bearing aphorisms like “SUFFER TIME” or “I’m gonna kill you and bury you in a box half your size”. They’re so blunt that you laugh instead of feeling real shit feelings.

The Lewer/Garifalakis collaborative work at Hugo Michell seems to sit comfortably between their two individual practices – a bit funny and a bit fucked up. The end result is a series of found images off-set printed and then altered with mordant text and black enamel spray. I’m looking forward to laughing instead of crying, or crying and laughing at the same time, or y’know, just walking around the gallery and maintaining my composure.