Through sculptural practice, Michael Dean (UK, 1977) addresses issues related to language. His installations can be understood as writing that happens in space, where the sculptures, together with the architecture that contains them and the spectators who observe them, form part of the same system of signs. His pieces evoke both the human body and typographic forms, through which Dean creates what he himself defines as a physical writing that uses materials commonly used in construction, such as concrete.
The sculptures that make up the installation of Your Text here are surrounded by yellow ribbons that are normally used to delimit spaces with possible risks, such as construction sites or police investigation areas. Some of the ribbons are repeatedly inscribed with the same phrase that gives the title to the exhibition, which refers to an indication that could be found on any form, template or customizable product, and which points to a space to be filled in. At the same time, this phrase highlights the multiple readings that could exist on the same work, a mental operation that depends on the relationship that each viewer can establish with the artistic object.
On the other hand, the sculptures suggest human figures in which forms representing parts of the body such as fists and tongues can be recognized. The body always participates in communication, even extending the possibilities and limits of the faculty of language beyond orality and writing. In this case, a writing converted into objects and located in space, requires a physical involvement of the viewer who can transit the text.
Michael Dean (UK,1977) lives and works in London. He has been nominated for the Turner Prize in 2016 and the Hepworth Prize for Sculpture in 2018. In 2017 he was part of the Skulptur Projekte in Münster, Germany, the most relevant event dedicated to sculpture practice worldwide.
His recent individual and collective exhibitions include Having you on, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2018); Scripts, Bielefelder Kunstverein, Bielefeld (2018); Give Up The Ghost, Baltic Triennial 13, Tallinn Art Hall, Tallinn (2018); Raymond, Manifesta 12, Grand Hotel et Des Palmes, Palermo (2018); Against The Wall?, S.M.A.K., Ghent (2018); Four Fucksakes, Herald St | Museum St, London (2017); Teaxths and Angeruage, Portikus, Frankfurt (2017); More Than Just Words [On the Poetic], Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2017); Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (2017); Lost True Leaves, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas (2016); Sic Glyphs, South London Gallery, London (2016); Stamen Papers, Fondazione Giuliani, Rome (2016); Qualities of Violence, De Appel Arts Centre, Amsterdam (2015)