In the Flesh at the National Portrait Gallery

Posted on 16 January, 2015

Divide by Sam Jinks, 2011. Photo courtesy of National Portrait Gallery

In the Flesh is an immersive, captivating experience where the impact and beauty of art come together to form commentary on humanness that can only truly be appreciated in person… in the flesh.

I had the opportunity of walking through the exhibition with the curator, Penny Grist shortly after it opened and discovered it is the largest exhibition that the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) has installed. Absolutely delighted with the outcome, Penny explains the process of bringing together the work of 10 established and emerging contemporary Australian sculptors and painters whose work is responsible for the exhibition’s 10 themes. Themes were deliberately chosen as a way of exploring the topic so as to avoid making a universal statement of what humanness is; a perspective that gives the exhibition a free association vibe inviting individuals to embrace self-awareness and deeply explore what being human means to them while contemplating the nature of consciousness, self-awareness and emotional states through the works of the artists.

The exhibition is not typical for the NPG as it’s not your standard collection of portraits but rather presents the underlying themes of portraiture, reflecting back to us ideas of what humanity looks like. The exhibition can be experienced in any order; upon entering turn left or turn right, or walk straight through to the back (but shield your eyes so you don’t ruin the surprises!)—every theme and artwork stands by itself and becomes its own immersive experience.

The area of the exhibition called Sensory Space is not just for kids either. The touch and feel boxes give access to samples of the material used in the artworks adding another layer of reflection through utilising another sense. Likewise, the Sound Tour is another avenue to further deepen the experience. Penny describes it as ‘an untraditional audio guide’ that contributes to the themes through presenting intense, personal, funny, unexpected, moving stories in line with the themes rather than discussing the works.

A favourite artwork of mine is Unsettled Dogs (2002) by Sam Jinks. Echoing the point that the pieces cannot be accurately experienced through photographs, the piece is surprisingly smaller than I had anticipated but packed a bigger punch.

Unsettled Dogs by Sam Jinks, 2012. Photo courtesy of National Portrait Gallery

A man and a woman, dog-headed, lie naked next to each other, yin and yang, so close to touching but ever so apart; perhaps alluding to the fact that no matter how close you can feel to someone in body and spirit, you can never truly know their inner thoughts. This tug of war between the ever-expanding mind and the fleshy body that transports it, is a conflict that comes to the fore throughout the exhibition—another layer of what it is to be human that connects us all.

Many of the works have an intensely real element to them. Although the use of realism is a method of making a point and not the point itself, it can be initially overwhelming. The artworks look so much like living breathing people, albeit smaller or much bigger, that I anticipated many of them to open their eyes or to step off of their plinths. I also confused security guards for artworks more than once. Penny says it was a conscious decision to not focus on how the artworks are made as it would guide interpreting the works away from the intention of the exhibition.

Allowing people the space to reflect on how they respond to the artworks is far more important than understanding the techniques. This was probably most potent for me when approaching The Long Awaited (2008) by Patricia Piccinini. Oddly enough, it felt like I was at a bus stop and was observing others who were waiting.

The Long Awaited by Patricia Piccinini, 2008. Photo courtesy of National Portrait Gallery.

The artwork is of a boy sitting on a bench with a strange grandmotherly type creature lying in his lap; but it’s not important to figure out what the creature is. The emotional connection of familiarity and comfort that flows between the boy and creature is the focus.

A thought-provoking and positively touching experience, In the Flesh provides a bite-sized exploration of an enormous topic that has featured constantly throughout human existence.

The essentials

What: In the Flesh
Where: National Portrait Gallery
When: Open daily 10am to 5pm. The exhibition runs until Monday 9 March 2015
How much: $10 per person, $8 Circle of friends and concessions. Visitors under the age of 18 are admitted free of charge, courtesy of St. George Bank.
Web: www.npg.gov.au