“Snake On Charms Way”

by Ben Cottrell

Opening party with artist:
Saturday 22nd June, 5-8pm
Exhibition dates:
June 22nd - July 27th, 2013

Ten Haaf Projects is proud to present “Snake On Charms Way”, the gallery’s second solo show by Ben Cottrell (b. 1972). The title refers to a magic journey of temptation, a great adventure.

Ben Cottrell’s work can be seen in relation to an ambivalent eruption of energy. It explodes into a variety of approaches, motifs and mediums: oil paintings, ink drawings, woodcuts and sculptures. As an artist whose work has various mythological references, often full of classical themes, he creates a new world where luscious women and figures roam in a Dionysian spirit; a world with brightly coloured mountains, rivers and landscapes.

As in a dreamlike state, we see images and figures, at times recognisable, other times they seem to dissolve and transform into vague images with distorted faces. Women sometimes wear masks. Landscapes are idyllic, with bright cloudy skies. But in these illustrations, everything can dissolve, fall apart, and become intensely surreal. Landscapes melt, women have blank eyes and skies explode.

Looking at the works of Ben Cottrell, various thoughts come to mind. Could it be perceived as a Traumdeutung of Freud, where the unconsciousness and dreams play a mayor role? Women show up in many different forms and shapes, whose seductive beauty and attraction are reminiscent of “A Snake on Charms Way”.