The lascivious, floral and soft sculptures of Margarita Sampson at The Salon of Infectious Desires.
In the ‘Infectious Desires’ series by Margarita Sampson an imaginary literary salon is literally over-run by soft textile beings. Strangely beautiful creatures, that resemble marine flora, are crawling over the furniture. Mutant colonies of corals climb across the upholstery. An octopus´s garden of delirious beauteousness.
The altered chair sculptures of Margarita Sampson are currently on display at the Stanley Street gallery in Darlinghurst, New South Wales. The sculptural works are accompanied by a limited edition of giglee prints of the work in collaboration with photographer John McRae.
The recent ‘Salon’ series pitches overweening growths onto a host chair, which begins to succumb or bend under the weight. Poised at a juncture, there are many scenarios that could evolve… the chair is buried in soft forms? They outgrow themselves and die out? They take over an entire room? you?…that’s the excitement and the tension I seek when working on a piece… “
I’m interested in the idea of colonisation, growth, opportunistic expansion, the organic versus the inorganic, taking over spaces and recontextualising them. I don’t like to be too specific with the forms in my work, I like them to be suggestive enoughof any number of possibilities so that the viewer brings their own story and imagination to the party….then the work starts to resonate, through that conversation. If a work answers it’s own questions it’s dead.
‘Infectious Desires‘ at Stanley St Gallery celebrates 3 years of work on the ‘Salon’ series. The exhibition runs till 14th March, culminating in a salon on the final Saturday where you can drop in and have tea & cake with Margarita! yum!