What to See this London Gallery Weekend
by Salena Barry
Translucent, lilac grey sheets of linen hang from the gallery ceiling like hospital curtains. We are aware of partially obscured objects in the spaces beyond them, the effect amplifying Claire Baily’s investigation into the tension between knowledge and intuition. Her freestanding sculptures have a distinctly medical quality, with clean, functional shapes and diagrammatic components. However, natural elements and processes interrupt and, perhaps, supersede these gestures toward scientific authority. Precious Cargo (2022) resembles a series of interlinking hospital stretchers, each cradling bone-like pieces of rusted metal, bone-like pieces of rusted metal. The show opens and closes with two rectangular wall-based works reminiscent of medical imagery – X-rays or microscopic photography. How Will You Remember Me and How to Build an Ocean (2022) contain murky layers of graphite that confuse as much as they clarify, reminding us that there is a depth of knowledge beneath what we can perceive.
