Plane
2016 - Sculpture (Sculpture)
130 x 320 x 80 cm
Matthew Langan-Peck
Plane is an inflatable sculpture in the shape of an aeroplane made from numerous pieces of plastic bags assembled by an iron. The object is inflated by a fan at the structures base and deflates when it is deprived of its power source, causing the plane to sink. It is in this process that plane leans on its wings, evoking a crash, a defeat, or a failure. In interrogating the economy of materiality and representation, Plane toys with the notion of aeroplanes as mode of transportation, while the installation counters that which it resembles with the work itself is easily assembled, transported and reproduced. Equally, the installation evokes questions of waste and man-made objects and material, the impact of unrecyclable matter on the environment, and the role of the artist exploiting alternative modes and methods for installation.
The practice of Matthew Langan-Peck traverses drawing, installation and painting. Through manipulating and experimenting with materials and space, the artist explores the economy of installation, ad-hoc materiality and space occupation. The artist makes peculiar, amusing and almost childish objects from simple shapes and materials. While the objects in his installations are too big to be games, often embarrassing by their volumes, and some may seem ridiculous; the objects contain an opposition — or a tension — that combines playfulness with the fragility of life. They are, at once, ambitious gestures of power and delicate assemblages of waste and recycled materials. If this practice is reminiscent of Claes Oldenburg, the works of Matthew Langan-Peck are imprinted with a resigned poetry. The modesty of the work and the fragility of the forms bear a tragi-comic resonance heightened by his evocation of a possible disappearance.
