Magali Reus
Parking (Legs At Eye Level), 2014
Fibreglass, polyester resin, pigment, screen print on PVC, elastic cord, powder coated laser cut aluminium
57 × 140 × 49 cm
Magali Reus’ seats carefully mimic the look of the mass-produced kind found in waiting rooms or stadia, but are in fact each completely handmade. When Reus produced the Parking series she was interested in the strategic manipulation of everyday objects, particularly in relation to how humans use public and ubiquitous spaces, such as airports, hospitals or sports arenas.
The sculptures in this series are littered with objects that prop open, cover or otherwise surround the seats, alluding to a human presence that has perhaps just popped away and has put something down as a placeholder. The placard, which reads ‘261’, enhances the feeling of a transient space, a waiting room, like an oversized version of the ticket pulled at the pharmacy queue. The seats seem occupied or certainly not in a state to be sat on. The red elastic cord and plastic sheet are reminiscent of the hastily blocked off park benches and playground equipment during the early days of lockdown in 2020. The usual invitation to take a rest has been withdrawn.
Reus’ work has been described as a 'dirty realism,' creating work that looks clean and precise whilst alluding to the excesses of consumerism.1
1 See the exhibition press release, The Approach, 2014. Available at www.theapproach.co.uk/exhibitions/magali-reus-2/press-release/, last accessed 27 April 2021