whitecross gallery

Micheal Buckley And Alexis Jahiel

Citizens of the world, Michael Buckley and Alexis Jahiel were both born in 1972 and now live and work in France. Their collaborative work is an exploration of the human presence on earth, our history, our impact and abstractions there within. £5 A POP, the piece they presented for Desire’s Smoking Gun, was first produced by request for the ‘I Love Peckham’ festival in 2007. In £5 A POP, the artists are working with ideas that reappear consistently in their work, such as: avarice, desire and violence. While the work captures initial interest with light hearted humour and visual appeal, it also leads viewers to consider more serious issues regarding the undeniable allure of weapons, and the widespread acceptance, and desensitization to violence within society today. Molded in sugar, Jahiel and Buckley’s guns are in fact giant lollipops, and therefore entirely comestible. The artists have chosen to use a non food grade silicone to create the molds so that when the lollipops are cast in these molds they are rendered useless, thereby negating any logical raison d’être…. and they are for sale at £5 a pop. This work, which was produced to promote reflection and dialogue, ironically had the opposite effect upon its initial unveiling. The piece was refused by the intended exhibition space, and was reinstalled in an alternative space. Due to it then receiving a negative public response, the work was removed from the windows and made unavailable for further viewing or purchase. Luckily however, since being installed at the Whitecross Gallery, the work has received a less controversial response.