nairy baghramian's giant teeth sculptures turn london gallery into a set of jaws

nairy baghramian’s giant teeth sculptures turn london gallery into a set of jaws

nairy baghramian: scruff of the neck
marian goodman gallery, london
now through july 29, 2016

from now until june 29th, london’s marian goodman gallery presents an exhibition by nairy baghramian that brings together a series of body-based sculptures in site-specific concert. ‘scruff of the neck’ is imagined as a space entered from the back of a head, with a sequence of giant teeth leaning against the walls and cornicing the upper floor. inside ‘the head’, the oversized sculptures are titled according to spatial coordinates in the mouth, manifested as marble-dusted forms braced by polished metal framework. conforming to the existing architecture, the teeth suggest that the gallery itself is a kind of speaking apparatus.

scruff of the neck (LR 30/31/32), 2016
cast and polished aluminum, polished aluminum rods, plaster, beeswax and rubber | 245 x 247 x 134 cm
all photos by thierry bal © nairy baghramian

rather than entering from the front of the mouth, the iran-born, berlin-based artist asks visitors to the gallery to take a more ambiguous route, coming in from behind. the exhibition’s idiomatic title ‘scruff of the neck’ not only refers to the neck, but also the vulnerable folds of skin found there. humorously, the sculptures borrow from the vocabulary of dentistry — particularly bridges, polished metal braces, and cosmetic implants — and the idea of self-renovation. 

scruff of the neck (UL 12/13), 2016
cast and polished aluminum, polished aluminum rods, plaster, beeswax and rubber | 210 x 210 x 95 cm

scruff of the neck (LL 19/20/21), 2016
cast and polished aluminum, polished aluminum rods, plaster, beeswax and rubber | 221 x 290.8 x 114.3 cm

scruff of the neck (UL 14/15/16), 2016
cast and polished aluminum, polished aluminum rods, plaster, beeswax and rubber | 223.5 x 302 x 132 cm

scruff of the neck (UR 3/4/5), 2016
cast and polished aluminum, polished aluminum rods, plaster, beeswax and rubber | 200 x 165 x 120 cm

scruff of the neck (LL 22), 2016
cast and polished aluminum, polished aluminum rods, plaster, beeswax and rubber | 234 x 193 x 88 cm

scruff of the neck (LL 23/24 & LR 26/27/28), 2016 — detail view
2 parts; cast and polished aluminum, polished aluminum rods, plaster, beeswax and rubber
part 1: 213.5 x 225 x 110 cm | part 2: 200 x 255 x 127 cm