Fascinating Abstractions at Mark Melvin's 'Sunday'
Held at North London's Cob Gallery, Sunday is a thoughtful ten-year retrospective from accomplished UK artist Mark Melvin.
Mixing snatched familiarities (such as the scribbled-out notes of "Things To Do Today") with shredded pop culture references (a surreal pair of Jack Nicholsons in the video footage of "Tomorrow Remember Yesterday" and the sinister Singin’ in the Rain loops and subtitles of "Good Morning") through a range of mediums, Sunday, as a whole, is a thoroughly contemporary representation of introspective, existential questions, told through skewed wordplay and a fascination with twisting time.
The flickering neon proposal in "Changes" and the vintage mirrors — painted and then defaced — in the "Looking Forward To Looking Back" series are particularly visually rewarding, but every piece serves its purpose, precisely.
It’s a compelling exhibition — vast in its scope and subject matter — and Melvin’s use of abstract ideas to relay familiar concepts is masterfully executed.
Sunday is on display at The Cob Gallery, 205 Royal College Street, London NW1 0SG
