Michael Landy rose to fame with as a YBA in the mid-1990s with his installation 'Break Down'. In a disused C&A department store on Oxford Street- a victim of financially hard times in the centre of consumerism- Landy systematically documented his every possession, then destroyed every single one. This radical art work ridiculed possession but also got the the heart of sentimentality; his mother was too upset to stay and watch her wedding photographs be destroyed an had to be escorted of the premises.
After a long series of similar wild installation pieces, then a significant absence from the scene whilst Emin is ever the tabloid favourite and Hirst is making millions, Landy has crashed back with his Saints Alive exhibition at the National Gallery.
Following a succession of artists such as Bridget Riley, Ron Mueck and Peter Blake, Landy was asked to take up residency at the gallery. Weird for him in many ways by his own admission as he has neither painted before nor had a full time job before.
What struck Landy most profoundly about the collection he was asked to respond to was St Catherine's wheel. He found 13 of these in paintings and wondered what they were and why they weren't highlighted. This spurred him on to discover the stories behind the saints, unlock the symbols to reveal the tragic stories of their martyrdom.
Landy said that You're never left with nothing, you're left with minus in relation to the debts he rang up following the destruction. But it is a profound idea that has resurgence in Saints Alive. The stories of the saints are today largely forgotten, St Apollonia pulling out her teeth to rid her of her cursed beauty, St Francis if Assisi inherited the wounds of Christ, the stigmata. Even though they are forgotten, we are left with paintings not nothing and a largely secular society- a minus if you will- rather than nothing.
Landy's kinetic sculptures bring the stories of the saints to life for a 21st century audience. See doubting Thomas prodding the wounds of Christ and St Michael wrestle the devil. His main focus throughout the creation if these sculptures was the Catherine wheel. Originally he wanted to create a huge one that rolled around the gallery picking up visitors. At least that might have worked, most of Landy's sculptures in ironic Landy style keep breaking down and returning to the workshop. Whilst of course it was an eventual aim that these sculptures would break down- just listen to the racket as St Jerome beats his chest with a rock- I'm not sure even the artist anticipated the quite so frequent Break Down of his sculptures. Like he says, you're not left with nothing, you're left with minus, in this case an installation in constant need for repair.
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