Madge Gleeson: Replica

Artist(s):

Madge Gleeson

Title:

Replica

Exhibition:

SIGGRAPH 1998: Touchware

Creation Year:

1997

Medium:

Mixed media

Size:

48" x 65" x 8"

Artist Statement:

Replica is a spoof on the notion of authenticity in the digital environment. In this work, the contemporary still life of edible and fake pears nested in a plastic bag is directly captured in larger-than-life detail by the scanner. The humble plastic pear, which is one of the “sitters” for the piece, is almost forgotten as an intruder in the picture plane of the smallest frame. In the printed output, both edible and plastic pears are strikingly similar in visual appeal, and both are branded with stickers. Two modified eye-like quotation marks are used to add the artist’s brand to the still life and thereby to claim and append the content and history of still life to the piece. Lights mounted to the top of the larger image mock a form of museum display associated with value. They also reinforce the microscopic examination of subject. The smaller image is symbolically dependent on the larger for its illumination, just as all three elements are physically linked by hardware.