REVIEWED: Sarah Morris: Bye Bye Brazil
By Martin Macdonald
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| Sarah Morris, Bye Bye Brazil installation view Photo: Ben Westoby © Sarah Morris. Courtesy of White Cube |
Bye Bye Brazil by New York-based
artist Sarah Morris (b. London, UK, 1967) at White Cube in London’s Bermondsey Street is titled after the 1979 road movie by
director Carlos Diegues (b. Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil, 1940). Whilst his film focused on an important moment in the modernisation of Brazil, Morris's works draw inspiration from the sun-kissed mega-city of Rio de Janeiro in this new era of major change in the South American nation. The exhibition itself runs from 17 July - 12 September and features geometric abstract paintings and a film.
Upon entering the expansive main
gallery one cannot help but notice the paintings’ reflections melting into the
gleaming concrete floor as waves of electronic music emanate from an adjacent
room. The vibrant pieces bring together sensual curves and
sharp lines making them both eye-catching and upbeat.
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Sarah Morris, Jockey Club Brasileiro [Rio], 2012
Household gloss on canvas. 214 x 214 cm. 84 1/4 x 84 1/4 in Photo: Ben Westoby © Sarah Morris. Courtesy of White Cube |
Jockey
Club Brasileiro [Rio] (2012) combines circles and
rectangles in block colours whereby orange tones, yellow and black stand out.
Whether the work’s title is relevant remains a mystery given that despite the lines, loops and the intensity of the colours, the piece itself does not transport
the viewer to the hippodrome.
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| Sarah Morris, Banco Safra [Rio], 2012 Household gloss on canvas. 214 x 214 cm. 84 1/4 x 84 1/4 in Photo: Ben Westoby © Sarah Morris. Courtesy of White Cube |
Whilst Banco
Safra [Rio] ] (2012) lacks the circles of Jockey Club Brasileiro [Rio], a sense of dynamism is added to the
piece by diagonal lines interrupting the squares. The painting can be viewed as a grid-like building with its windows shimmering in the Rio sunshine.
Banco Safra itself is a Brazilian multinational bank, a point which
adds to the notion that Morris plays with “urban, social and
bureaucratic typologies” as per the exhibition’s press release.
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| Sarah Morris, still from Rio, 2012 Beta digital, colour. Duration: 88 Minutes 33 seconds Photo: Ben Westoby © Sarah Morris. Courtesy of White Cube |
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| Sarah Morris, still from Rio, 2012 Beta digital, colour. Duration: 88 Minutes 33 seconds Photo: Ben Westoby © Sarah Morris. Courtesy of White Cube |
In the adjacent room, running 88 minutes and 33 seconds,
stands Rio (2012), a Beta digital
film covering vast swathes of the back wall. Over a musical score of
electronica infused with tropical beats by British artist Liam Gillick (b.
1964), Morris’s film takes the viewer flâneuring across the expansive city. The campness
of the Rio Carnival shines through with its feathers, sequins and bronzed flesh. The late Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer as well as the curvaceous Niterói Contemporary Art Museum
he designed also make guest appearances.
Moreover, the statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado
mountain, the surf spot of Ipanema beach and the traffic and pedestrian-filled streets, together with the
Brahma brewery and the hippodrome add sprinkles of canary yellow,
parrot green, bright blues and ravishing reds.
In what appears to be an attempt to
move away from what often comes across as a slick infomercial, Morris adds a dash
of social documentary. The viewer gets to see poor employees working at an
underwear factory. A white former model whose beauty has long since faded away and who has had a visit or three too many to the plastic surgeon shows off her gorgeous flat. Her black maid wears an old-fashioned
black and white servant’s uniform. A favela also comes into the frame - the camera zooming into a woman and kids dancing in Rio's hills. In another segment, when the city turns dark, one can observe the streets
becoming rather empty and the music changes, adding tension to the air.
The exhibition is therefore exciting
but somewhat problematic. It certainly brings the energy of an iconic city
whose worldwide importance is growing due to Brazil’s increasing economic might and the
upcoming FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games. Morris's paintings are vibrant
and graphic yet rather similar to her previous works. What really brings Rio
de Janeiro to the forefront is the beautifully shot film and the infectious
music. Rio is entertaining yet sometimes feels like an introduction to the city meant
to attract foreign tourists and investors alike – showing them the sites
and sounds of Brazil's second largest city whilst ignoring many of its real problems such as political and corporate
corruption and street crime. Nevertheless, Bye Bye Brazil is exciting and the visitor is likely to exit the White Cube
happier than upon arrival.
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| Sarah Morris, Bye Bye Brazil installation view Photo: Ben Westoby © Sarah Morris. Courtesy of White Cube |
SARAH MORRIS: BYE BYE BRAZIL at WHITE CUBE. Bermondsey, London, UK. 17 Jul - 29 Sep.