Kris Martin: T.Y.F.F.S.H.

About

Although T.Y.F.F.S.H is monumental in scale, Martin’s ability to communicate meaning so poignantly throughout his work is as much effective as it is on the scale of the small and the minute, and at times the ephemeral verging on disappearance.

As a hot air balloon, T.Y.F.F.S.H is spectacular, yet it does not fully embrace spectacle. And its gesture is modest and earnest, with its particular act of displacement that stands more in line with the history of the readymade, than it does with the history of Installation. Its wit and subtly, and sense of romanticism stand apart from the current and growing attitude of the use of large scale to fuel mass appeal, garnering mere entertainment as it seems.

As another layer of interpretation, T.Y.F.F.S.H traces the existing parameters of the gallery space, and can be entered by the public, offering an altered reading of its architectural quality, as well as its status and use as a place for presentation and engagement. It is also a rare autobiographical work by the artist. The countryside of Flanders is a region for hot air balloons and a regular landscape sighting for the artist during his earlier years, giving further context for the presentation at MOSTYN and its place in LLAWN.