Justin Carter is best known for his functional, site responsive sculptures such as Mobile Retreat (2000) a flat-packed artist’s studio, Sustainable Indulgence (2004) a solar powered ice cream stall, and Pedal Power for Bybrua (2008) an urban pedal powered lighting system commissioned for Stavanger 2008.
Thinking Hand Scratching Head playfully explores objects and materials in terms of their poetic potential. These new and re-configured works reflect the immediate location of the project space but also pay homage to an eclectic mix of other artists including John Baldessari, Bas Jan Ader and Georges Braque. Ray, a coffin shaped boat, references the River Rea — now a largely subterranean river. Water Feature relates directly to the architecture of the space and plays on our expectations of landscape and nature.
The current exhibition marks a return to a studio-based enquiry that reflects an intuitive approach to making, characterised by contradictions and dark humour.