Michael Landy Scaled Down

Scaled-Down is Michael Landy’s new exhibition that was presented at Thomas Dane Gallery. It could be a retrospective of his work but it’s not, it’s a new body of work made from all of his artworks. Michael Landy has always been interested in destruction, waste and the meaning of worth and value. For this body of work, Landy turns to methods of industrial waste compaction. But the process of destruction actually turns into a process of renewal, as his drawings and sculptures are re-imagined into compressed sculptural forms. Michael Landy's past artworks and their journey up until now have been compressed into high impact new artworks. Viewed as a group they are an echo of the past set in a wide serene room with a stillness to them, that could project a stillness that may come after destruction, brought into a rebirth. A rebirth which makes us think about our attachment to items, the memory of them, the transformation of an item through time, what we value, and of courage. For it is courageous to take one's work that has been sucessfully exhibited around the world and reformulate it into new work. This also shows the humbleness of the artist, that Landy is about real art. The exhibition has ended at Thomas Dane Gallery (more to come next year), but the thoughts the artworks generate have not. They make us think about the notions of destruction, memory, value and rebirth.