Mariele Neudecker. Plastic Vanitas

Exhibition extended until August 24, 2016!

The second solo exhibition by Mariele Neudecker at the Thomas Rehbein Gallery focuses on her latest project "Plastic Vanitas." The series of 49 photographs was created in 2015 during her artist residency at the Museum of Design in Plastics (MoDiP) and the Arts University Bournemouth, England. The scientific collection at MoDiP houses over 12,500 different plastic objects from our everyday culture, sorted into individual inventory boxes based on criteria such as material, size, and weight. Mariele Neudecker presents these diverse plastic objects as compelling Vanitas still lifes.

Drawing on the composition, background design, and lighting of Dutch and Flemish still life painting, the plastic items are skillfully arranged in the photographs to create a new aesthetic that is both striking and peculiar. Each photograph showcases the contents of an inventory box, featuring at least one object that clearly relates to the visual vocabulary of Vanitas still lifes. Reflecting the appearance of typical props in Vanitas still lifes, the selected items serve as identical or nearly identical counterparts made of plastic. In thoughtfully composed scenes against dark backgrounds, they become symbols of our earthly existence, representing wealth and self-satisfaction, intertwined with imagery of the transience of all things earthly. Curlers become a contemporary symbol of vanity. Clocks herald the limited span of life. And although the plastic flowers or fruit in Neudecker's photographs do not exhibit decay, their appearance undoubtedly evokes thoughts of impermanence.

Mariele Neudecker works with a variety of media. In her sculptures, installations, films, and photographs, she repeatedly explores the act of seeing. Her astute arrangements demand active intellectual engagement from the viewer. Often, a shift in perspective intensifies perception. In this new context, the beautiful world of plastic prompts reflection on themes such as consumption, sustainability, recycling, and pollution. Plastics have become indispensable in our modern lifestyle. No other material shapes our material culture as profoundly as plastic. Clearly, the questions of our time are reflected in this material.

(Miriam Walgate, 2016)