Judy Darragh
Lovesongs 'till Midnight
December 19 - January 10 1998/99
Judy Darragh first came to prominence as NZ's premier Queen of Kitsch
when her 1980's shop The Blue Room offered kiwiana to the urban
heartland of surrounding Grey Lynn. Pilfering objects directly from
the op-shops and living rooms of 'ordinary New Zealand,' her finished
artworks demonstrate a dense layering of familiar cliché's played
off against one another, re-configured and exaggerated. This contextual
complexity is accompanied in Darragh's work by an often garish sense
of humour and an obvious love for her discarded materials.
In Love Songs 'till Midnight Darragh makes witty use of materials
that might have started life on the shelf of her local stationary
shop. Displayed in a cross formation on the gallery wall glossy
scenic posters are covered in a snowy mist of small white sticky
labels. Viewed through this blurry haze a Hawaiian sunset and the
pyramids look eerily alike.
Further into the gallery sexy hunks and sugar n' spice kiddies gaze
serenely out from behind streams of white twink that erupt from
their mouths, ears, and eyes, cascading over their airbrush-perfect
bodies in what Jon Bywater describes as "a juicily direct use of
correction fluid to play up the not-so-subtle desires that drip
and bulge forth from bedroom and workshop walls." (1)
Despite these phallicly proportioned waterfalls gushing from their
various orifices, Darragh's cast of working class characters seem
oblivious to their sticky predicament, seductively smiling on. With
tongue firmly in cheek, Darragh refrains from adopting an overtly
judgmental or authoritarian position, preferring to delightedly
poke and prod at her subject matter, each twink dribble applied
with loving care.
1 Jon Bywater discussing Darragh's exhibition
Cube n' Dice at Fiat Lux, 1998, in issue 6 ofLOG
Illustrated magazine.
Reviews, Essays & Articles
Judy Darragh
ART AsiaPacific, 1999; 23:110
Reviews 'Judy Darragh : love songs 'til midnight', Physics Room,
Christchurch, Dec 1998-Jan 1999.
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