Untitled (2012)

Josephine Meckseper's 'Untitled' (2012) is comprised of several sheets of paper swept with expansive brushstrokes, interlaid with two crumpled american flags, a crushed Pepsi can, and several layers of a multi-coloured, reflective material similar to Mylar. This discordant collage, with its disparate elements intercepting each other at harsh angles, creates a shallow depth of field and seems to force the image outwards into the viewer's plane. It is a surprisingly aggressive image, oblique but forceful. The contrast of shapes and textures - glossy and slick, rough and lush, metallic and harsh, are visually sumptuous and, like all of Meckseper's collages and vitrine sculptures, the work seeks to challenge ingrained perspectives. Stating that she wants to "bring out the paradoxes inherent in manic consumption" Meckseper describes the significance of the objects she includes in her vitrines and collages is that they are easily exchangeable. "This is a key to the work - the objects are mere signs of capitalism. The reason for their existence is in anticipation of their own destruction. They are meant to trigger a resemblance to the way store windows appear just before they are smashed by demonstrators. They represent targets for potential violence."