Myfanwy Macleod: or There and Back Again is an ambitious new monograph on the work of Canadian artist Myfanwy Macleod. Focusing on a new body of sculptural work, produced specifically for Macleod's forthcoming solo show at Vancouver Art Gallery, the publication presents the artist's ambitions to deconstruct social hierarchies, using a varied palette of cultural references. Macleod's work has previously referenced cultural nodes as diverse as Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Jethro Tull's Bungle in the Jungle and the cartoons of Chuck Jones. Macleod makes these references through a combination of form, content and technique: a recent work, Dorothy, for example, comprises origami structures made from magazine cutouts of the famously murdered Playmate Dorothy Stratten. In her new body of work, the work at the heart of or There and Back Again, Macleod explores the sexually evocative lyrics of Led Zeppelin and the novels of JRR Tolkien. A vast stack of Marshall amps, a skewed Chevrolet Camaro spinning on a rotisserie and monumentally exaggerated heavy metal band logos all feature in this exciting new book from one of Canada's foremost contemporary artists.
Contributions by: Josee Drouin-Brisebois, Joseph Monteyne, Kathy Slade, Brady Cranfield