Red Scare
According to Wikipedia Table Turning is an outdated and rather messy form of Ouija board "in which participants sit around a table, place their hands on it, and wait for rotations. . . the alphabet would be slowly called over and the table would tilt at the appropriate letter, thus spelling out words and sentences." Upon entering Mr. Suggs exhibition we are therefore predisposed to think about communing with spirits and all the eeriness that entails. Two pieces of art immediately fit our frame of mind; a large pool of wax (from candles?)entitled Red Scare and a Ouija Board entitled Yes, Yes. even though it is without the words "yes", "no" and "maybe" and is tilted up by an unplugged microphone on one side.
As Above, So Below (background). Yes, Yes (foreground)
There are also several references to music. In the piece As Above, So Below, a series of constellations Mr. Suggs has made up and named after various people whose last names begin with "m" we see the names Morrissey, McCartney, and even Manson (among an assortment of "m"s with other professions). There are two sets of earbuds on pedestals, equipped with ungodly amounts of wire and coated in rubber. One can guess by the title Unsung Sculpture, that this makes the buds worthless. The final piece is a video installation, comprised of three TVs positioned at varying heights behind two black curtains. The subject matter of the videos appears to be fans at a concert, only rendered slower and more red then they would be in life. The curtains impart the feeling of standing backstage while a rock group performs and looking out over the sea of fans. Not on stage yourself, but set apart from the rest of the spectators. This piece is entitled Incantations.
Whenever I am around the work of Mr. Suggs I cannot help but think of gothic or industrial music which doesn't fail to put me in mind of high school. My mind runs circles from there and I am always concerned that I haven't figured it all out.
Incantations
Unsung Sculpture
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