power › Nick Turvey

Animal Spirits
2017. Wood, money, buttons, cotton. 41 x 15 x 6 cm.

I inherited this from my economist father, a souvenir from his consulting work in Africa. I re-carved it to have the eyes from one of Rembrandt’s later self portraits, sadder and wiser after its engagement with global capital.
Mummy And Daddy
2014. Vitrine, wallpaper, model V2 rocket, model atom bomb and mixed media. 79 x 41 x 129 cm.

The Cowboys and Indians wallpaper that lines the floor of this vitrine was in my bedroom as a child. In retrospect it seems hardly accidental, living as we were in the shadow of Mutual Assured Destruction, another mythic confrontation.
Leviathan
2014. Mixed media. 104 x 134 x 13 cm.

Is this an autopsy or a life-saving operation? In/Out? Independence? Just like our parents, the nation state is more vulnerable than we like to think. Shout out to Thomas Hobbes.
Dieu et Mon Droit
2014. Bronze resin and mixed media, plywood, paint and flag. 66 x 100 x 84 cm.

Edwin Landseer’s allegorical animal portraits are a great source of inspiration, as are Bernini’s illusionist textures. This snarling armoured car is a piece of contemporary heraldry, reflecting the sense of entitlement that power creates.
It’s A Boy (detail)
2014. Vitrine, wallpaper, carved marble. 79 x 41 x 129 cm.
Innocent (detail)
2014. Vitrine, wallpaper and mixed media. 79 x 41 x 129 cm.

In a dream I was making an artwork involving a battle tank and a pile of rubble. The solution was revealed to me by a man with a dead rabbit (Joseph Beuys, obviously), resulting in a series of vitrines. The title of this one alludes to Francis Bacon’s version of the painting by Velasquez, another portrait of power.
Dear Leader – Shanghai
2014. Solid cast bronze, gold plated and enamel paint. Unique. 28 x 14 x 5 cm.

In granting the State a monopoly on violence, we become dependent on it. This totem of benign/malign authority melds Artemis of Ephesus with that latter-day avenging angel, the Tomahawk missile. Shanghai is one in an ongoing series of regional interpretations of the idea.
Dear Leader – Original Version
2014. Solid cast bronze and acrylic paint. Edition of 5. 28 x 14 x 5 cm.

In granting the State a monopoly on violence, we become dependent on it. This totem of benign/malign authority melds Artemis of Ephesus with that latter-day avenging angel, the Tomahawk missile.
Dear Leader – Kongo
2014. Solid cast bronze, cotton fabric, copper wire and coins. Unique. 28 x 14 x 5 cm.

In granting the State a monopoly on violence, we become dependent on it. This totem of benign/malign authority melds Artemis of Ephesus with that latter-day avenging angel, the Tomahawk missile. Kongo is one in an ongoing series of regional interpretations of the idea.
All Alone Together
Solo exhibition

Gibberd Gallery

19 June-23 August 2013

The Watergardens, Harlow, Essex

Three sculptural installations – claustrophobic, defensive spaces reminiscent of military bunkers – have been built in the gallery, and individuals and groups in Harlow are invited to make use of them. Here is an opportunity to examine the meaning of selfhood and togetherness, developing the idea of a community art gallery as a place of meeting and action.

Image: Bunkers 1,2 & 3