Rachel Maclean - Zabludowicz Collection

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I was lucky enough to attend the opening of Rachel Maclean's newest exhibition at the Zabludowicz collection, which was followed by a talk by Maclean herself into the methods and concepts behind the production of her feature films. I have attended multiple exhibitions by Maclean's in the past, however this one was by far the most successful. Her practice had developed much in terms of depth to the films, providing interesting considerations for design for an exhibition space which will be useful for my practice in terms of setting the scene for your work to be delivered and thus best received. 

Techno-Dystopian or Techno-Utopian Representations?

The exhibition takes the viewer into a neo-dystopian consumerist-ridden virtual reality where everything glows and sparkles, but is detrimental and deceiving to our wellbeing.

Her work has strong contextual references of collective and recognised visual representations of beauty (The Birth of Venus) and fibbers (Pinocchio), which in turn draws strong, necessary and accurate conclusions of our current social climate. This distinct visual literacy only heightens the viewers reception of Maclean's evident weighted concepts. 

The Guardian:
"We are plunged into a disturbing virtual reality world, or maybe an online gaming arena full of migraine-inducing colours, where a number of women are dressed like robotic Barbie dolls or Stepford Wives, with names like Siri and Alexa, responding to commands and presided over by a deeply weird and disapprovingly haughty madame, who speaks only in dubbed phrases cut up and mashed up from, of all people, Kenneth Clark, presenter of the high-minded and unashamedly western-oriented TV classic from the 60s, Civilisation."

Her publication design is vibrant and candy-like. This sweet association sets a tone of the exhibition that visually corresponds with her work, yet effectively juxtaposes the harsh emotive qualities of its content. The techno-utopian aesthetic in her use of logotype, with emojis and sparkles, as well as the clear connotations of its focus on the UK's all-watching, surveilled society, further emphasises Maclean's ideals. This sweet fantastical tone of voice, with its pastels, bows and hearts, resonates fun and upbeat assumptions but with a simultaneous eeriness of 'too good to be true'.