Angela Singer | Light Remains : {Suite} Ponsonby
The title of Angela Singer's latest exhibition Light Remains encapsulates many meanings. On the one hand, it may allude to the artist's use of smaller scale vintage taxidermy - the preserved remains of butterflies, ducks, kids and fawns which Singer sublimates with jewels, honouring and mourning their passing. It could reference a turn of phrase commonplace on memorial plaques and in condolence cards: the light of the living too bright to be snuffed out, even in death. Or perhaps it refers to the possibility of light, ever present in the dark. When the earth turns on its axis and we descend into night, the sun remains - it's light simply displaced and its return predetermined.
This duality of light and dark echoes Dostoevsky's conception of freewill in The Brothers Karamazov; an at once seductive and burdensome prospect. As human beings we have the freedom to accept or reject morality, to commit acts that are good or evil, irrespective of the burdens such choices entail. Light Remains confronts viewers with this stark reality and calls into question the degree to which we are all complicit in activity that damages and destroys our wildlife and ecosystems. Choosing to do nothing is still a choice, after all. The urgency to act resonates strongly through Singer's work, prompting viewers to take action before we lose all that remains.