Ayuko Sugiura at The WW Gallery, London

The WW Gallery presents Second Skin, a solo show of works by Ayuko Sugiura. Working with sculpture and installation, Sugiura presents the viewer with a series of new skins, whether these are patterns projected onto a surface, layers of silicone, or tokens of identity; these illusory and visceral second skins present the viewer with an opportunity to question the invisible and intrinsic components of our cultural identity.

Examining the instinctual nature of religion in contemporary culture, Sugiura uses arches, crucifixes and icons as the basic structure for many of her sculptures. These references, estranged from their context, become difficult to identify.

The contemporary invisibility of faith; a sense of a belief in something whose shape and form we cannot identify, and who we can no longer give a name to, drives Ayuko Sugiura to search within her own lexicon as an artist for familiar textures and forms with which she can create a personal icon.

In her surreal use of familiar symbols twisted into an unfamiliar iconography, birthday bunting made from pig’s ears, silicone cathedrals and pink elephant crucifixes are all results of the clash of cultural references. Sugiura’s works become hybrid forms, distorting our preconceptions and transforming our inherited perspectives.

Second Skin, 5th September until 6th October, WW Gallery, 34/35 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8DX. www.wilsonwilliamsgallery.com

Credit: A Feast, 2012, Pig’s Ears, Ribbons, etc © Ayuko Sugiura, 2012, Image courtesy of WW Gallery