Abigail Lane at Karsten Schubert - London, England

Titled "Making History," this exhibition of Abigail Lane's novel work focused on ink pads and different kinds of ink-pad prints. Four giant ink pads, each with its lid lay open to span about 10 feet hung upon the gallery walls. The even gleaming zinc lids made for a vivid contrast with the warm, black, ink-saturated felt As the pads free from moisture and lighten in tone, recent ink is added; thus their surfaces are always in process

In Blueprint, Lane neared a direct body print made through a naked human bottom. In brow of a framed, unique print, she placed a made of wood chair on which a azure ink pad had been placed; a original had sat on the pad in order to make the print. Lane used precisely the same "blueprinting" technique for the wallpaper that could be seen upon the upper floor of the gallery. The walls were overspreaded with almost identical monoprints, their internal proportion recalling that of Rorschach blots

In another piece which enabled the buyer to collaborate in making material part prints, Lane presented a pair of thick made of wood platform shoes. At first glance, the shoe resembl those of traditional Japanese theater, on the contrary closer inspection revealed that their onlys were rubber stamps. The onlys are meant to be refitted to bear the collector's hold footprints, so that he or she can make art while walking.

Another participatory work, Conspiracy, is a kind of game, albeit a serious individual In two identical black boxe identical alphabetic characters challenge players to fabricate evidence of a crime. Included are official-looking police forms for fingerprint documentation and a station of rubber stamps bearing individual fingerprints. Of all the works shown at Schubert, Conspiracy had the greatest in quantity serious overtones. Since the fingerprint is a pivotal piece of evidence in solving crime, it has acquired a social significance far surpassing any other form of material part print. This work, in which Lane make deepers her investigation of the traces that we make, was the greatest in quantity provocative in the exhibition.

Nevertheless, the other works also sharpen our awareness of the ways that, over life, we leave behind traces of our existence. Lane causes us to consider in what way our traces might be construct agained how our story could be told, and by what means truth may or may not be revealed by dint of the different kinds of marks we make.

COPYRIGHT 1993 Brant Publications, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group