Karen Tang ' Scopodrome'

About

Inspired by the seminal Kubrick film Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) Tang's sculptural practice ventures into the territory of missile wars and sci-fi exploration. Channelling sci-fi mythology from a number of sources including Ridley Scott's Alien films and the satire of Dr Strangelove, the artist succeeds at negotiating the fraught morality of warfare and our detached engagement with it. Sci-fi references such as the 1950's Dan Dare comics become the comfort zone where the annihilation of the human race is a remote possibility, whilst scopodrome is a technical term meaning the homing pursuit of guided missiles, described in extreme detail in actual military defence manuals. Tang's sculptural dramatisation translates the world of missile control and space craft into a stage environment which is as surreal as it could be real. In her recent work hybrid combinations of formal elements and different media lead to an altogether more dramatic and urgent language. For the viewer the work offers a sensory and interactive experience.