Only If You Look Closely
We came across her work while looking for our next exhibition and felt we had to share our interpretation of her work.
Her title made things easier for us; it provided us the lens to see the work through her eyes. Without it, we would probably misinterpret the message she wants to get across.
The visuals of her work are animals standing one on top of the other; existing as a single fragment of the entire animal kingdom.
Sarah Pratt’s work is focused on the concept of things hiding without being seen within their environment; things that can only been seen only if you look closely. The message that we took from her work (with the aid of the title of her solo exhibition hosted by Salon Ninety One) is that there is always something visible, breathing and living in the invisible.
Pratt’s artworks depict the camouflage that animals exist within in their habitats. This depiction is kept alive by the fading hues and pale colours that flow into one another as well as the overall concealment in her work.
Additionally, she depicts how animals protect one another and how being able to become a part of your environment is a tool of survival. Animals like zebras, panda bears and dalmatian dogs exist within each other through the fusion of their black and white tones. This makes the focal point of her work the things we fail to see straight away and the things that are needed for survival.
Only if you look closely do you see that the animals are single units of her collective.
Only if you look closely do you see that there is life in what is concealed.
Visit: https://www.salon91.co.za/sarah-pratt/.
Sarah Pratt’s artwork explores the theme of invisibility
