Modern Art Oxford’s 2003 solo exhibition of new work by acclaimed British artist Jim Lambie showcased the artist’s characteristic formal rigour and site-specific response to the gallery space with a DJ’s sense of improvisation and sampling.
The exhibition brought together a new vinyl floor work, Male Stripper, a black and white duct tape striped floor that referenced the dimensions and structure of the gallery space – with new sculptures created from found objects sourced from second-hand shops in the city.
A work called Midnight Adonis, a yellow Plexiglas eyelash suspended by silver chains, was suspended in the space and a mattress soaked in blue gloss paint, created in situ, was hung on the eastern wall of the gallery.
A primitive mask covered with red glitter, Red Head, a self-portrait of the artist, was situated in the corner observing the mise-en-scène, which was inspired by an image of a piece of 1980s furniture that Lambie had seen in a design magazine.
I picked this exhibition because I have always liked the vitality and humour of Lambie’s interventions and because it illustrates one of the many shows in which the gallery has been transformed into a playground for the senses, a guiding idea expressed by the founders of the gallery in 1966.