Decoy

In an era characterised by tumult and flux, where boundaries between reality and simulation blur, the works of Cristian Avram, Eric Bainbridge, Simeon Barclay, Sooim Jeong, Rachel Lancaster and Miko Veldkamp emerge as poignant explorations of the hidden self, fluid identities, and the deceptive nature of the world. As we adapt to a rapidly changing environment dominated by social media, AI, surveillance, and an increasing loss of privacy, these artists employ various strategies to negotiate an increasingly hostile environment, including camouflage, mimesis, masquerade, and evasion, to reveal fragments of truth beneath our constructed existence.

Simeon Barclay navigates complex cultural histories and the intricacies of identity, combining appropriated imagery, text, and sculpture. Drawing from his experiences in Northern England's manufacturing industry, he contrasts industrial life's stark realities with aspirational glamour from sources such as Vogue to address class, masculinity and representation.

Eric Bainbridge's playful assemblages of found objects and everyday materials subvert conventional hierarchies. By dismantling traditional sculptural concerns, Bainbridge exposes our need for order and coherence in the absurdity of an inherently chaotic world. The exhibition presents two works from Bainbridge's seminal 1980s large-scale faux-fur sculpture series.