Wild disorder

An ant’s eye, orange peel, a hibiscus flower, rhubarb, bacteria and a space blob are brought together with stunning effect in Alicia Frankovich’s new exhibition Atlas of Anti-Taxonomies.

Now on at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, the exhibition features more than 100 images that the New Zealand-born artist has gathered, sourced or created, grouped together in eight large double-sided light boxes displayed throughout the
gallery space.

“The collated, overlapping and montaged images are wild and vibrant, a little bit like a Google image search or as though you’ve somehow entered the Internet,” says curator Melanie Oliver.

“Their placement on the large screens feels momentary, as though this is just one iteration of many possible permutations, disrupting any typical or static taxonomical order.”

“The title Atlas of Anti-Taxonomies itself implies that there are alternative ways to organise, describe and understand the world and its inhabitants,” says Oliver.
Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorisation.

Frankovich’s Atlas of Anti-Taxonomies visually references the monumental but unfinished Mnemosyne Atlas (1924-29) from German art historian Aby Warburg (1866- 1929).

Warburg amassed nearly 1000 photographs of artworks, cosmography, maps, people, places and things, arranged across 63 panels to show how themes, patterns or motifs repeat across different times and places.

Atlas of Taxonomies runs until 22 May.