Artist: Morag Keil
Exhibition title: Free Like Only Animals Can Be
Venue: Project Native Informant, London, UK
Date: February 2 – March 19, 2022
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Project Native Informant, London
“The exhibition consists of 9 paintings, screwed onto metal pegboards that are used to host a variety of tech junk, discarded belongings and machine parts. The junk frames the paintings which, on the whole, are of domestic animals known to the artist: Casper the rabbit, Pepsi the cat, Delphine the cat and owls wearing graduation caps – a common motif where the owl represents wisdom and an eagerness to learn.
The image for the exhibition advert is a collage of different cartoon animals that have been used to tell fiction and non-fiction narratives, usually with a moral lesson; the rabbits from Watershed Down, the pig and horses from Animal Farm, the entire cast of The Animals of Farthing Wood, Bambi and his mother, Simba and Mufasa and The Critters from South Park.
The works are assembled in a haphazard way with glue dripping off and the fixings visible, parts akimbo: an illusion of freedom in their laissez-faire construction.”
Installation view: Morag Keil, Free Like Only Animals Can Be, 2022 at Project Native Informant, London. Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London
Installation view: Morag Keil, Free Like Only Animals Can Be, 2022 at Project Native Informant, London. Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London
Installation view: Morag Keil, Free Like Only Animals Can Be, 2022 at Project Native Informant, London. Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London
Installation view: Morag Keil, Free Like Only Animals Can Be, 2022 at Project Native Informant, London. Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London
Installation view: Morag Keil, Free Like Only Animals Can Be, 2022 at Project Native Informant, London. Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London
Installation view: Morag Keil, Free Like Only Animals Can Be, 2022 at Project Native Informant, London. Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London
Morag Keil, Delphine, 2022, Acrylic on canvas, coffee cup, circuit boards, collage, wheels, steel, padlock, mobile phone and found material on steel pegboard, 50 x 90 x 16 cm (19 3/4 x 35 3/8 x 6 1/4 in). Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London
Morag Keil, Casper, 2022, Acrylic on canvas, bike light, camcorder, circuit board, steel, hair extensions, ventilation pipe and found material on steel pegboard, 50 x 64 x 20 cm (19 3/4 x 25 1/4 x 7 7/8 in). Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London
Morag Keil, Pepsi playing Animal Crossing, 2022, Acrylic on canvas, collage, dentist lamp, LED light, steel, plastic and found material on steel pegboard, 50 x 128 x 16 cm (19 3/4 x 50 3/8 x 6 1/4 in)
Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London
Morag Keil, Hole, 2022, Acrylic on canvas, ventilation pipe, artificial moss, plastic fan, laptop, LED strip light, glow in the dark paint, steel and collage on steel pegboard, 56 x 90 x 15 cm (22 1/8 x 35 3/8 x 5 7/8 in). Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London
Morag Keil, Larimar/Gullan, 2022, Acrylic on canvas, plastic wand, collage, circuit board, artificial moss, LED strip light and steel on steel pegboard, 62 x 61 x 26 cm (24 3/8 x 24 1/8 x 10 1/4 in). Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London
Morag Keil, Pepsi, 2022, Acrylic on canvas, plastic toy lamp, epoxy resin, wheels, circuit boards, collage and disk tray on steel pegboard, 64 x 43 x 8 cm (25 1/4 x 16 7/8 x 3 1/8 in). Courtesy the artist and Project Native Informant, London