Meaghan Shelton

Kreep Club

CREATED BY MEAGHAN SHELTON

Kreep Club is a nod to Shelton’s Constructivist heroes, especially the Russian Constructivist and trans- disciplinary artist Varvara Stepanova. We see the dancing bear, eyes wide in shock, watching the revolution. Some of us recognise ourselves. We’re not on the farm anymore, this is a club, there are the animals: the jive arse turkey, the long-necked giraffe on his promenade with the paedophile prince. It’s like the creeps aren’t even trying to hide, wearing their long hats in the street.

The bear, the artist, is looking at his black brother down on the streets, the turkey and the giraffe have turned their back on him.

But look, there is his sister: there she is, she’s put her tired polkadot dress on again, she’s holding him up. And Shelton adds the horse shoe, her wishes for good luck.

While all of us wait for that third K to drop.

KREEP CLUB, 2020. ASSEMBLAGE, FOUND OBJECTS. 280MM H X 150MM W X 70MM D

Yogini

Shelton shows us the act of creation, the Artist bending over backwards for the audience who stand in front, watching it all, in their various stages of desiccation. This is how it is all held up, the strings are showing, the Artist is making diamonds from nothing more than painted wood and the whole process is there, on display. There is even an arrow, pointing the audience to where to look; could Shelton be more explicit? She’s twisting right back around to touch her own toes! It’s good old-fashioned hard work. And what is the response from the audience?

‘and’; And? And!

Or is that the response of the Artist? Driven to create. And, and, and…

Shelton made these works on the road; she is a gymnast, a trapeze artist, the strongwoman of the circus, an acrobat performing atop a moving vehicle, creating a world on the run. Not a yoga master, not yet, in the Sanskrit, the artist must remain ‘ini’ a student, but she knows that Art is work and she knows life is temporary.

YOGINI, 2020. ASSEMBLAGE, FOUND OBJECTS, COTTON, SILK THREAD, ACRYLIC. 300MM H X 150MM W X 120MM D.