Beyond Savage

Kate Knight and Matt Rowe present a series of works that expand on notions of Romanticism. Collaboratively their exhibition tracks anecdotal threads of the Romantic movement from its gothic origins to the present day.

Matt Rowe’s installation presents a Chroma Key vista where fragments of sublime landmass, sculptural assemblage and lens-based media are combined. Rowe’s representations of European Wildman are reframed within the aesthetic of simulated training scenarios, to symbolise our enduring desire to tame savagery.

The chroma blue painted surface throughout the exhibition represents a sterilised realm where the complexities of gothic imagery have the potential to unfold.The deep chroma blue draws parallels with folkloric accounts of domains beyond the limits of the civilised world.

Rowe’s Wildmen are constructed from a variety of domestic materials on the brink of extinction. Harvested from the locality of Folkestone his costumes become decorative wearable landmasses.

Download text here: Link