Oracle
Teal Griffin & Charlie Harrison

Oracle, a new installation at Chemist Gallery, is the third chapter in an on-going collaborative series between artists Teal Griffin and Charlie Harrison. It follows in the steps of the perceptual dreamscape of Sandman Mattresses at Jupiter Woods in 2021, and the watery, social sensorium of Neptune’s Launderette at Art Lacuna in 2023. These shows playfully unpick the conventions of the art exhibition and film set, engaging viewers in the illusion of something familiar yet strange, unsettling and absurd. Griffin and Harrison’s immersive installations transform the everyday into myth, blurring the real and the constructed. Given closer inspection, the legitimacy of the features and objects in the space start to give way, leaving the visitor questioning their own perception.

Whilst Sandman was conceptualised through sleep and dream, and Neptune through water and space; Oracle will speak to the future, clarity and flimsy premonition, through the guise of a high-street opticians. Oracle opticians, see the future clearly.

Teal & Charlie’s shared fascination in crappy and magical realism, perception and its periphery, led to the suggestion of working together. Teal tends to be a bit more meticulous and Charlie a bit more direct, but together they put in a lot of love, commitment and playfulness.

Teal Griffin’s (b.1988 London) practice takes shape through a process of bricolage; working with sculpture, installation, painting, video, text and spoken word.

Charlie Harrison's (b.1986) work remodels common forms, drawing attention to perceptual fragility through distortions of material and sensual codes. Sculptural works are usually poorly fabricated and often placed within unsuspecting public environments.

Links:
Sandman Matresses
Neptune’s Laundrette
Teal Griffin
Charlie Harrison