Modern Panic IV

Apiary Studios

8-17 November 2013

Reviews
November 10, 2013
by Johanne Björklund Larsen
Harrie Skully performing at Modern Panic IV

Curated by James Elphick from the art collective Guerilla Zoo, the Modern Panic series is an annual exhibition that focuses on surreal,  provocative and controversial art, presenting a collection with a wide range of artists and mediums.

It is a strange, nightmarish wonderland for one to step into, with bizarre sculptures, paintings and videos that incite laughs and terror simultaneously. The viewer is left with a disturbed feeling that hunts one throughout the exhibition. It is interesting, hilarious and disgusting, and half the time one does not know whether to laugh from fear or joy.

Though the theme could easily have become tedious in a contemporary art scene where much art strives to provoke, Modern Panic manages to stand out and avoids ending up as a cheap cliché. This is mainly owed to the wide diversity of themes that the selected artists are working with. They vary from political controversy, such as Erik Ravela’s photos of ‘crucified’ children that were banned from Facebook, to Orli Ivanov’s small sculptures of gauntly, old men that basically leaves one distressed and uncomfortable.

The extensive range of artist can at times be bewildering, making it easy to miss some of the less eye-catching pieces. Then again, this is not an exhibition that seeks to promote a specific artist, but rather an overall theme. At times it can seem biased towards total provocation, but then again, as this is exactly their aim, they succeed with bravura.