In the initial publicity I read about this exhibition at the Dunlop’s Sherwood Village Gallery (6121 Rochdale Blvd.) the pop culture status of vampires was mentioned prominently. That inspired me to envision a show deconstructing all the tropes that have built up over vampires in the last decade or so through things like Ann Rice’s Gothic novels, Buffy on TV and the Twilight phenomenon with K-Pat or Rob-Stew or whatever cutsie-poo nickname the two principles go by.
Turns out though that Spread is a bit broader than that. Yes, it does reference the idea of blood and blood-letting. But more in a medeival medical sense where doctors blamed sickness on “ill humours” and prescribed various acts of purging to help people regain their health.
What Laganse has done using wood, ceramics and textiles is create pieces of furniture designed to properly position a body to purge blood, vomit and other bodily fluids like the one pictured above. If you’re interested in meeting the artist there’s an opening reception for Spread at the gallery March 23 at 1 p.m. The show runs until May 23.
