Abstract

[sic] indicates that quoted words have been transcribed exactly as spelled or presented in the original source, complete with any erroneous spelling or other presentation. In this exhibition Shepley took his studio as his ‘text’ and installed it as a transcription of his studio in the Courtyard Gallery throughout October 2012.

The transcribed studio occupied most of the gallery space and comprised various assemblages and constructions, neon lights and studio devices, purposefully informing the viewer that any mistakes or apparent errors in the transcribed material did not arise from transcription faults but had been repeated intentionally. The piece was reproduced exactly as set down by the artist with the main intention being to indicate a new beginning and a revolutionary act. [Sic] signalled itself as a work in progress and blurred the boundaries between the gallery space and the artwork, foregrounding a system that transformed all the social interactions in the space into the work of art, in which the entire process was included within the work.

Daniel Buren, the renowned French artist once said that it is in the studio that the artwork is closest to its own reality – beyond this place it is prone to endless manipulations, interpretations and vested interests and this installation playfully questioned and made humorous comment on the boundaries around ‘art’ and any institutional frameworks at large. The work drew attention to mistakes, running repairs, wonky constructions and calamitous assemblages, emphasizing erroneous logic and resisting the commodification of art.