Faint young sun (letters to a future): Mark Maurangi Carrol
In Carrol’s debut solo exhibition with Nasha Galley titled faint young sun (letters to a future), he explores the intersection between the philosophical concept of hauntology, text and the found word and the representation of the human figure in painting. Hauntology, as interpreted by Carrol, reflects his own interests and examines how the past continues to shape our present experiences. Through his paintings, he encourages viewers to confront their own personal ghosts and contemplate their individual experiences. The paintings and paper works within the exhibition are deliberately disparate in scale, curated to juxtapose and amplify the pictorial timbre between larger paintings and their pairings with smaller more intimate scaled works of shared subject matter, and feature ambiguous figures stripped of identifying markers. The figurative compositions are left to anonymity and serve the function of a conduit often adorned with backpacks in sates of suggested movement and engagement with unknown or obscured elements tightly cropped or simply suggested at the margins of their pictorial borders. The inspiration for this body of work stems from Carrol’s recent trip back to the Cook Islands, where he captured photographs of family members engaged in labor within their gardens and places of communal gathering. These images serve as a reflection on the migratory experience, exploring the intersection of “old worlds” and “new worlds.” The backpack, a universal symbol of travel and mobility, holds the essential belongings and memories that migrants carry with them. It becomes a vessel for their dreams, aspirations, and cultural heritage, a poignant reminder of the interconnectedness between their past and present, their origins and destinations. The fusion of text and image establishes a new language within the artwork, intertwining the lyrical and the visual, offering a harmonious coexistence within the intricate tapestry of artistic expression, the harmonious interplay of text and image emerges as a captivating fusion that pulls at the limitations of each medium. In the realm of Mark Maurangi Carrol’s work, the convergence of text and poetry adds an enriching layer of meaning to his paintings, intertwining the visual and literary realms to create a unique artistic language.
Through careful curation and thoughtful placement, the textual elements within Carrol’s artwork serve as a call and response, engaging viewers in a dialogue that extends beyond the visual realm and delves into the depths of human experience. Drawing inspiration from diverse sources such as poems, internet forums, interviews, street signs, and even misspelled words appropriated from family gravestones, Carrol’s utilisation of text reflects a tapestry of voices and perspectives that shape our collective consciousness. By overlaying handwritten or printed words onto the images, Carrol instills a sense of fragmentation and dislocation, mirroring the way memories can fade or distort over time. This fragmentation invites viewers to delve into the depths of their own recollections, forging connections between personal experiences and the broader narratives embedded within the artwork.
