Black Swan

Terrible day for technology, Windows updates driving me nuts. Luckily the sun is shining, hopefully help banish this flu that's been hanging on. For those of you not familiar with Sam Mitchell's work, she was the William Hodges Artist in residence here from around March to September this year. SIT Arts has recently purchased some of the work made during her residency for the collection. Here is an excerpt I wrote from the catalogue for Sam's show at SMAG:

..."There is a crack in everything....that’s how the light gets in"

Sam Mitchell

Southland Museum & Art Gallery

Superheroes, monsters, demons and damsels in distress, soldiers, saints and unicorns – daring rescues, passionate kisses, bottom basement bargains and oral sex. From the cool blue skin of smiling or pensive innocents, graphic tales of corrupted virtue reveal the age-old struggle between good and evil. Sam Mitchell’s portraits get under the skin and expose the scars beneath, the marks or tattoos that can be laid-bare by her gaze as defining and permanent. It is through these cracks in exterior appearance that Mitchell observes and documents the often accidental illumination of dark forgotten corners “I'm an alligator, I'm a mama-papa coming for you” she says. With her penetrating gaze firmly fixed on Southland, glossy, glazed ceramic platters emerge bearing the confronting glares of topless women encircling a black swan. A muscular black singlet clad man looks us in the eye as he slits the neck of a sheep and floating portraits of illustrious leaders of the Invercargill Club float ominously in the fore of its grand façade alongside a portrait of a featureless woman. “I'm the space invader, I'll be a rock 'n' rollin' bitch for you”, Mitchell says. “Don’t fake it baby, lay the real thing on me.”

You can check out more of Sam's work at melanierogergallery.com