Ross Taylor
21 5/8 x 17 3/4 in.
Ross Taylor's Fortnight is a surreal reflection on the passage of time and a critique of societal structure. The "fortnight," from the Old English term fēowertīene niht, meaning "fourteen nights", serves as a metaphor for the ambiguity of time, contrasting it with the rigidity of a week, which has historically been indissolubly tied to market days and commerce. The exhibition suggests that a fortnight allows a period of “truce” from the weekly repetitive patterns, a less rigid time span, where the "imminent" societal effects can be questioned.
The High Street is metaphorically depicted as swarming with a “crowd of associates.” These disguised figures seem to avoid institutions and blend into the urban environment, with fluid and undefined identities, creating a chaotic counterculture. Their irreverence encapsulates the radicality of the fortnight.
This charcoal and graphite drawing depicts a group of merged and distorted human figures in the form of hair or wig, peeping out in the High Street, dodging the established societal rules. The main character’s face is disguised with make-up and a prosthetic nose.