Lucy McKenzie is a Scottish artist based in Brussels, who has a wide range of works from painting, drawing, texts, sculptural objects, to video. More than 80 works of her, that dating from 1997 to the present, are displayed on the “Prime Suspects” exhibition. This exhibition is on view through 6th June 2021 at Museum Brandhorst, Munich.
Trompe l’oeil
“May of Teck” (2010) is one of McKenzie’s works that is shown in this exhibition. She painted clouds on three sides walls that create an illusion of space. At the bottom center, there is a small black door, like a fireplace hole. Two frames-like images appear on the right and left side, suggesting opening windows on the wall. In this work, McKenzie deployed Trompe l’oeil effects or in literal translation “deceive the eye”. This technique is also known as “optical illusion”. McKenzie’s paint really ‘deceives our eye” with its colors and depth illusion.
Lucy McKenzie, ”May of Teck”, 2010. Courtesy of Artist. https://contemporaryartdaily.com/
This Trompe l’oeil reminds me of the story of a contest between two ancient Greek painters–Zeuxis and Parrhasius. The contest would like to determine who was greater between the two painters. Zeuxis painted some grapes that looked so delicious. A flock of birds was fooled by Zeuxis’s painting. Afterward, Zeuxis together with Parrhasius walked to Parrhasius’s studio. He asked Zeuxis to draw the curtain. When Zeuxis attempted to do so, he realized that the curtain is not a curtain, but Parrhasius’s painting. Zeuxis deceived the birds, but Parrhasius deceived Zeuxis.
Picture has power to deceive both animal and human. Even, sometimes people are deceived under their self-consciousness that it is only an image. (see W.J.T. Mitchell, “Illusion: Looking at Animals Looking”). Nowadays, this picture’s power is still relevant in the world of advanced capitalism, especially in the advertisement’s power to seduce the viewer.
Gender politics
McKenzie is also interested in gender politics themes, particularly about representations of women in fashion, sport, architecture, and literature. For example, in Top of the Will (1998-99), McKenzie took a photograph of herself and her friends, dressed in gymnastics uniforms of the 1970’s Soviet teams. Some other works also deal with gender issues, such as Curious (1998), Global Joy II (2001), Mooncup (2012), and Copy of Untitled (2014). Her works emphasize female self-determination and criticism of sexism and misogyny. In her artworks, she often reflects on her favorite female artists and author such as Agatha Christie, Muriel Spark, and Madeleine Vionnet.
Lucy McKenzie, “Top of the Will”, 1998-99. Courtesy of Artist. https://contemporaryartdaily.com/
Prime Suspect as a Detective Stories
As suggested by its title, this exhibition is a kind of Detective Story. This exhibition provides a creative booklet that helps visitors to search for clues among Lucy McKenzie’s works. It investigates the intruder who has painted a red pattern in a coat. At the same time, the booklet invites us to explore McKenzie’s creative process, materials, and patterns. You can download this booklet on this link: https://www.museum-brandhorst.de/en/creative-booklets/prime-suspect-a-search-for-clues-in-the-exhibition-lucy-mckenzie/
Lucy McKenzie – Prime Suspect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcHSy5ovL78
