IN THE GALLERY: The Rapids

Abbey McCulloch

1 - 18 Dec 2021

Abbey McCulloch ‘The Rapids’ THIS IS NO FANTASY from THIS IS NO FANTASY on Vimeo.

Abbey McCulloch’s new works consider how our bodies respond to moments of uncertainty. The natural world is continually reminding us that it can be both volatile and serene and our bodies offer the same wild multitudes. We are continually navigating our own fleshy wildernesses of chaos and calm.

McCulloch’s paintings and sculptures capture an in-between-ness, a state where we are restless, somehow wanting in and out of our bodies at the same time. Inhabiting our physical selves can sometimes feel like a perilous thrill ride, a passage into the unknown that we are constantly rolling with and adapting to.

‘The historical use of the female body in art is a motivator for me, there is still so much territory to reclaim and explore. Through my work, I want to keep finding ways to redefine how we see ourselves, particularly as we age. There is still something so undefinable about feeling human in the time that we are in and particularly feeling female. Making these images gives agency and freedom to those feelings – the strangeness of not really knowing the person that we think we are.’ (Abbey McCulloch)

Documentation by Janelle Low