Georgina Cue

Stages Review for Un Projects

In the midst of geometric wooden structures, plush velvet drapery and other theatrical paraphernalia, a woman sits in an exaggerated stance, sheathed in a turban and cascading gown emblazoned with striking painted pleats. Beneath her, champagne satin shrouds a make-shift cardboard floor. Her face is painted a creamy ivory, the contours of her features mapped out in dark paint. The space in which she sits is flattened into a velvety black expanse and inscribed with frenetic abstract glyphs and vivid red and white text that is only occasionally legible.

This photograph, laden with coded narratives, makes up one of a trio of works exhibited at TCB for Georgina Cue’s Stages. Dealing with historicity, each of the works in the series could ostensibly pass for an intricate Modernist reproduction; upon closer inspection they reveal themselves to be constructed facades. Known for her exquisite textile installations and, more recently, elaborately staged photographs, the genesis for Stages began as a series of Expressionist photographs and the short-film, Living Room (2016) which referenced Aelita, a constructivist silent film by Soviet filmmaker Yakov Protazanov.

You can read the full review here.