RHIZOME | Viewing Room
Irini Bachlitzanaki ∙ Shannon Bono ∙ Thomas Langley
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In botany, a rhizome, from the Greek ρίζωμα (rhizoma, meaning taking root) is a subterranean plant stem that has the ability to grow roots and shoots in multiple directions. The word is also associated with C.G. Jung who used it as a metaphor for a perennial essence and post-modern theorists Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari who used the term to describe a heterogenous, non-binary mode of existence that does not come from a single point of origin and has no end.
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In kinship with the natural world, traditional craft practices as well as individual and collective cultural and emotional anchors, the artists explore the inter-connected, ever-evolving structures of the places we inhabit physically and spiritually and the deeply entangled nature of identity, perception and being.
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Much like rhizomatic structures, Bachlitzanaki, Bono and Langley’s work appears to have no end points; bold, unapologetic yet tender, it emerges as a material expression of consciousness with a pared-down linearity that connects the internal with the external and defines a space that allows for individuality and belonging, rootedness and growth.
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Installation Views
Selected Works
SHANNON BONO
Deeply Rooted, 2023
oil, acrylic and spray paint on canvas
102 x 76 cm.
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Bono uses figuration in an attempt to tell relatable stories, make sense of and peace with personal and shared experiences, centralising black womanhood as a source of knowledge and understanding.
The power of her work urges us to look beyond the imagery and explore its symbolism and truth. Her world is rich and colourful but there is nothing superfluous about it; underneath it all, there is a simplicity that permeates it completely and authentically, a solid structure connecting and supporting the variegated elements of society, identity and selfhood.
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IRINI BACHLITZANAKI
The Fat Red Pot, 2023
plaster polymer
42 x 31 x 12 cm.
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There is a linear, reductive, diagrammatic quality to Bachlitzanaki’s shapes but the simplification of forms does not seem to detract from their essence nor from their power to elicit an emotional response.
Her sculptures, reductive yet dense with meaning, lend themselves to a multiplicity of narratives in a dialogue between cultural specificity and universality, informed by the associations and experiences of both artist and viewer.
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THOMAS LANGLEY
Bodger’s Hovel (Untitled), 2022
oil, wax and charcoal on canvas with oak frame
187.5 x 157.5 cm.
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Langley’s entangled, expressive, undulating lines and the texture of the painted elements imbue the works with an energy that renders them more than a representation of botanical forms but an expression of a state of being.
The artist’s hand is very much present as he creates raw, bold rhythmic compositions that function almost as language, conveying simultaneously the urgency of a call and the softness of a whisper.
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SHANNON BONO
Reaching Towards the Light, 2023
oil, acrylic and spray paint on canvas
50 x 50 cm.
Irini Bachlitzanaki
The Red Pots, 2023
plaster polymer and markers, 53.5 x 31 x 2 cm. each, installation dimensions variable
The Holding Hand, 2023
plaster polymer, 21 x 8 x 1.2 cm.
ThOMAS LANGLEY
Bodger’s Hovel (Untitled), 2022
oil, wax and charcoal on canvas with oak frame
82.5 x 72.5 cm.
IRINI BACHLITZANAKI
Prickly Pears in the Sun, 2021
Glazed earthenware and terracotta, acrylics, epoxy putty, stainless steel rod and cement plinth
124 x 20 x 20 cm. and 42 x 20 x 20 cm.
SHANNON BONO
Loves Devotion, 2022
oil , acrylic and spray paint on canvas
30 x 25 cm.
THOMAS LANGLEY
Bodger’s Hovel (Untitled), 2022
oil on canvas
40.5 x 30 cm.
SHANNON BONO
Love Shell V, 2022
oil acrylic and spray paint on board
24 x 18 cm.
Get in touch for further information, work availability and details.
Artwork Copyright: The Artists, Irini Bachlitzanaki, Shannon Bono and Thomas Langley | Exhibition Photography by Matt Spour | Courtesy of IONE & MANN