Impermanent Collection: Maslen & Mehra’s latest series of work embraces both sculptural and photographic media. Objects from museums found, for example, in the British and Victoria & Albert Museums and the Metropolitan Museum New York are referenced as the artists suggest an inextricable relationship between the history of civilisation and the natural world. In their installations, cabinets, plinths and vitrines are skillfully fabricated in wood creating sculptural sketches rather than replicas. Back-to-basics wire, paper maché and plaster techniques are combined with skins comprised of fine detailed photographic prints to describe each museum object. Featured amongst the Impermanent Collection are a series of shoes depicting Chopine from 17th century Italy, A Victorian boot and the bizarre ‘Armadillo’ by Alexander McQueen. Each object comes alive with imagery of lichen, moss, peacock feathers, iridescent beetles, human skin and bruised flesh.
