What’s that thing, Sarah Lucas?

As part of CtC’s coverage of the 56^th Venice Biennale we are continuing with a series of experimental object descriptions written during the show Sarah Lucas: SITUATION Absolute Beach Man Rubble which ran from the 2^nd of October to the 15^th of December 2013 at the Whitechapel Gallery, London. Sarah Lucas is currently representing the United Kingdom at the British Pavilion with her installation I SCREAM DADDIO. The first in our series is from Miriam La Rosa.

Sarah Lucas is all over the place.

She is looking at you.

You might think of her like the only inconvenient presence, but she is not.

You are there as well and you are looking too.

These breezeblocks are silently inviting you to the banquet.

They evoke the shape of a chair, a couch, or a bench.

Don’t be shy; take your seat.

You can enjoy the spectacle from there.

They proudly stand posed, daring you with the artificial quality of their material.

They give you the chance of increasing a voyeuristic appetite, making you part of the crime scene.

But what is this crime? And what is the scene?

The blocks recall the intimate corner of a room, where a shameless performance is taking place.

But there is no actual privacy in there.

It is disorder, instead.

A brothel, corrupting the space.

They might suggest the lack of a presence, an empty seat.

It seems they are saying: “please, take it!”

They are both the plinth for sex consumption and the spot of your licit participation.

They are the place of contemplation.

You are allowed to stop and spend your time to observe, analyse and evaluate.

If you decide to occupy them, you will be forced to fill the space, to give it credit, meaning, sense.

No casualty of interpretation.

The reference around is evident!

There is a lot of impudent communication.

And you are not a viewer.

Oh, yes! You are a player.

Miriam La Rosa

Feature Image: Sarah Lucas, Modular Furniture (2013) MDF, Breeze Blocks