MADDER139

Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted;
persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished;
persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.
‘Authors note’, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—Mark Twain

MICHAEL LI SLE -TAYLOR

17 May–27 June 2007
Private View Wednesday 16 May 6–9

Michael Lisle-Taylor graduated from Sculpture at the Royal College last year, prior to this he had
completed his BA at Chelsea. Before this he served 13 years in the military. This will be Lisle-Taylor’s
first solo show, showcasing a body of work which encompasses sculpture, photography, video, and
drawing, often as part of the execution of some seemingly hair brained scheme.
For Tournament of the Dirty Nurse 2006 he manufactured an ornately embroidered boxing ring, then
hauled it up a mountain piece by piece for reconstruction at the summit. He subsequently recruited former
colleagues to airlift the boxing ring. It dangled precariously through the sky and then landed in an
anonymous UK airfield. The resulting video is both comic and gutsy, as if the mechanics of war have been
raided by the artist.
For Madder 139, Lisle-Taylor will take a welded and upholstered submarine invention on a cave-diving
escapade under the Welsh Hills. On May 16th we will be presenting the outcome of this dangerous
endeavour, whatever this might be. So far it’s included the meticulously drawn plans and construction of
the beautiful, though cumbersome vessel itself.
Hanging from your Daisy Chain 2007 will stand alone in the upper gallery, a climbing frame tightly
corseted with sailing canvas, and bolted with sharp fixings. Too fragile and vicious for its original purpose,
a pointless enterprise somehow made meaningful. Oddly seductive, it sits awaiting its miss/use.
The sculptural work exists both as relic - remains of an event, be it actual or imagined - and as thing in
itself. The work is brutally honest, almost overburdened with meaning and with history. Each component is
sourced precisely, its motive reasoned, its implication planned, the use of certain materials has become
policy.
Carpenter, seamstress and strategist, Lisle-Taylor follows elaborate working processes, comparable to life
in the army. The architecture of conditioning; its ceremony and manoeuvres, the spit and polish, the
uniforms and drill. It’s dignity reduced to absurdity, and dignified once more - a blunt practice for these
muted times.
Wonder, terror, and something comic too. The illogicality of the task is set.

Open Wednesday Thursday Friday 12–6 Saturday 12–5
Nearest tube Old Street or Barbican
137-139 WHI TECROSS STREE T LONDON EC1Y 8J L
+44 (0)20 7490 3667 info@madder139.com www.madder139.com