embryonic 3D printed sculptures cast in porcelain by john rainey

installation view of ‘hyper activity: scenes from an other reality’ (2013) by john raineyphoto © philip sayerimage courtesy of marsden woo gallery

john rainey – hyper activity: scenes from an other realitymarsden woo gallery, londonon now through to march 16th, 2013

english artist john rainey’s uncanny sculptures reflect on existential questions, in particular those posed in a society where individuals have become increasingly familiar with a mutable notion of identity. one of the frequently cited causes for such a change in our sense of being is the development of social networking media, from online gaming to twitter and facebook – providing a range of reasons to enter into virtual worlds and – in the process – to generate a flow of highly subjective information in the creation of a hyperreal self.

rainey’s investigation takes in how images, their reproduction and our synthetic identity are represented and transmitted by such media. starting with a photographic image, he distorts and rescales it, using software to produce a hybrid representation, caught between the digital and the physical. in the following stages plaster prototypes are produced by means of high definition 3D printers and rapid prototyping machines, before being finally translated into porcelain. objects that emerge from his artistic process subvert classical form, oscillating between two and three-dimensions. his use of vibrant colour corresponds to a desire to achieve an ‘aesthetic of synthetics’.

he refers to the resulting figures – variously humanoid or embryonic cyborg – as ‘sculptural hyperbodies and prosthetic others’. his notion of a hyperreal body picks up on our increasing inability to differentiate between reality and its simulations. his use of the term ‘prosthetic’ is metaphorical, used to designate a re-conception of human experience in the light of advanced technologies, such as those put forward in posthuman or cyborg theory. in these we are asked to consider the implications on human consciousness of a wide variety of contemporary possibilities and circumstances, from those arising from body part replacement surgery to the ability of modern media to instil curiously vivid memories of events that we did not directly experience.

the installation as a whole carries ideas of multiplicity, observation and self-editing, ideas familiar from our engagement with virtual worlds. arrested from another social space, rainey’s extraordinary sculptures exist as snapshots of our activities and practices within the virtual realm.this new body of work is supported by the arts council of northern ireland’s national lottery fund.

‘three figures at the centre of a simulation’ from ‘hyper activity: scenes from an other reality’ (2013) photo © philip sayer, image courtesy of marsden woo gallery

close up of ‘love in the time of artifice’ from ‘hyper activity: scenes from an other reality’ (2013) photo © philip sayerimage courtesy of marsden woo gallery

‘the theatre of the projected self’ from ‘hyper activity: scenes from an other reality’ (2013) photo © philip Sayer, courtesy of marsden woo gallery

‘holding on to something immaterial’ from ‘hyper activity: scenes from an other reality’ (2013) photo © philip sayer, courtesy of marsden woo gallery

installation view of ‘hyper activity: scenes from an other reality’ (2013) photo © philip sayer, courtesy of marsden woo gallery

installation view of ‘hyper activity: scenes from an other reality’ (2013) photo © philip sayer, courtesy of marsden woo gallery

installation view of ‘hyper activity: scenes from an other reality’ (2013) photo © philip sayer, courtesy of marsden woo gallery

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