Resemblances, Sympathies and Other Acts

“Most often, the first question asked of art is ‘what does it mean?’ I suspect the more important question to ask is ‘what does it do?’, even if it seems like very little, or nothing at all.” Jeremy Millar, 2010.

‘Resemblances, Sympathies, and Other Acts’ presents new and recent works by artist Jeremy Millar, bringing sculptural, photographic and video pieces together.

Millar is fascinated by the history of culture, especially at those points when a particular idea, or piece of work, is beginning to emerge or is coming to an end. In using a broad range of aesthetic approaches, each suggested by the particular work, Millar aligns his practice with that of others who came before him in the hope that the past might be reactivated within the present.

As with many of his earlier works, Millar draws upon a broad range of artistic, literary, and philosophical sources in these works, from Algernon Blackwood’s supernatural masterpiece ‘The Willows’ (1907) and Virgil’s legendary bronze fly attached to the gates of Naples, to Roger Caillois’ ‘The Writing of Stones’ (1970) and Sol LeWitt’s ‘Incomplete Open Cubes’ (1964–5). The photographic series ‘A Firework for W G Sebald’ is a paean to the late German author.

Beyond their own particular sources, what these varied works share is a concern with what constitutes life: when does something come alive, and at what point does life leave it? Millar’s interest in anthropology and in particular the practice of magic and other forms of ritual is central to his practice.

Whether scarcely visible or viscerally shocking, these works are an attempt to bring about a change in the world, and also to mark that change. On their own, these works commemorate something particular, whether an individual, or an idea; collectively, they encourage us to consider our position within life and death, and also that of art within both.

Jeremy Millar (born 1970) is an artist living in Whitstable, Kent. He has exhibited widely in the UK and abroad including the National Maritime Museum, London; Camden Arts Centre, London; Tate St Ives; Plymouth Arts Centre; CCA, Vilnius, and Rooseum, Malmö. He is currently working on a new commission based upon John Ruskin's ‘Elements of Drawing’ for the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, and the Ashmolean Museum, both Oxford, and a collaborative project with the Canadian artist Geoffrey Farmer for Project Arts Centre, Dublin. Millar also conceived ‘Every Day is a Good Day’ for Hayward Touring, London, the largest exhibition to date of the visual art of John Cage, exhibiting at the Hunterian Gallery, Glasgow, until 2 April 2011.

Events

Exhibition Talk with Dr. Dominic Paterson, Wednesday 6 April, 7pm, Free

Dr. Dominic Paterson, writer and Art History Lecturer at Glasgow University, will give a talk reflecting Millar’s use of literary references within the works included in ‘Resemblances, Sympathies and Other Acts’, with particular focus on W G Sebald, author of ‘The Rings of Saturn’.

Jeremy Millar in discussion with Benjamin Noys, Tuesday 12 April, 7pm, Free

Benjamin Noys is Reader in English at the University of Chichester and his current research is focused on the question of the negative and negativity in contemporary theory, psychoanalysis, and in art and popular culture. His most recent work is ‘The Persistence of the Negative: A Critique of Contemporary Continental Theory’ (Edinburgh UP, 2010), and he has published widely on theory, film, art, and fiction.