There are other instances in which The Tetley Gallery as a space offers more contextual or maybe symbolic reading of the work. Both gallery 2 and 4 accommodate defunct fireplaces, both of which Gault has accompanied with strikingly white platforms which stretch across the rooms. These platforms are populated by numerous objects and materials such as acid etched white marble, jesmonite, and ground mussel shells, to name a few. Given the galleries period aesthetics (which date back to the 1800’s), these long bounty-decked forms recall lavish banquet tables. However, rather than being adorned by the spoils of affluence, they display a diorama of artefacts and contemporary art objects which set the mind racing to connect the dots and tie the strands together. One of these white platforms displays a series of cast white bulls, some are held aloft by armatures whilst others descend to the levels of the white vista below and submerge beneath its surface. Further down the platform lies a magnesium mineral bolus, it’s surface it noticeably cold and metallic, more modern and industrial in form. These boluses are found throughout the exhibition and direct attention to the agricultural practices which Gault has researched. A bolus is commonly used in agriculture, it is administered by a long gun which is inserted down a cow’s throat, when sitting in the animals stomach it slowly releases nutrients vital for support in growth performance and production. The parallels between this and the story of Mithra couldn’t be clearer; Mithra’s metallic sword plunges into the throat of a bull – a bolus gun delves deep into the gut of a cow. It symbolises our human efforts to tame the wild, utilise it for our own sake and in wrestling with bovine and other creatures we have augmented their biology as a means to bolster our own existence.

The presence of these long white tables have lasting impression and coupled with The Tetley’s period aesthetic they provoke other thoughts, such as military sand tables. Often seen in period war dramas on which military personal push and pull artillery and defence models into strategic positions. It’s a reinforcing image of mankind’s will to order, control and subjugate with little fore-sight into the lasting implications of our endeavours; fall out, mutations, upheaval, disruption and destruction of populations and environments. One could also be drawn back to the antiquity of Greek and Roman Gods. Pointedly, one is reminded of the 1963 film “Jason and the Argonauts”, which depicts Greek Gods intervening with the lives of mortals by arranging and rearranging chess pieces, playing with them for mere leisure, pawns in their games.

Gallery 6 contains another large-scale sculpture similar to the white lycra arrangements in the atrium. However, these are less prehistoric than their monolithic counter parts by way of their sharp angular modernistic protrusions. It is suggestive of an epochal shift, one into more current times, bringing the tapestry of histories, myths and practices squarely into the now. On closer inspection the forms concealed beneath the thin malleable surface reveal themselves to be things akin to interior furniture. The lycra pushed to its limitation appears to be reaching breaking point as stools, tables, metal frames and other vaguely domestic items extend outward awkwardly and achingly. This work implores the viewer to inspect and search around the form to see what else can be gleamed; a bolus gun digs into the surface, a hand cast in plaster clutching a dog chew is perched up high, a white plastic dog frozen mid leap snapping for something just beyond reach, and on one side of the work, glass spews from the only point of weakness.

Besides this large and evocative structure is another dog, again frozen as it springs forth, teeth exposed gnashing at a disembodied wolf skull. There is a palpable sense of hysteria in this room, calmed by the fact that everything is rendered still, allowing for breathing space and time to reflect on a scene which would otherwise stimulate a reaction comparable to the frenzy on display. After giving the work the time it demands, one cannot help but think of our increasingly perilous relationship with the natural elements around us. No matter how advanced our mastery has become in fortifying ourselves against the brutality of nature, we are still susceptible to the forces that lurk beneath. Thoughts of the recent volcanic eruptions in La Palma, Italy, tie into Gault’s glass work emitted from within the large sculpture. The reoccurring motif of the canine and the lupine steer thoughts to the forced evolution of wolves into domesticated and subservient creatures. This is, in and of itself, a pertinent microcosm of mankind’s need to adapt nature, either by necessity (guarding of livestock) or for folly (accoutrements to heels and handbags). After such genetic meddling and hunting them to near extinction, wolves are currently being reintroduced into the wild as a means of restoring the balance of eco systems.

The Tetley has always had an aptitude for exhibiting artists that suit the gallery space (see Nika Neelova). The parquet flooring, walls clad in wooden panelling and exposed brick work all contribute to a space that feels analogue. Gault’s use of materials has a similar feeling and sits quite at home in The Tetley, inhabiting it as it does, a space that is so elemental in design. The straw, plaster, reeds, marble, shells and metal are devoid of the high-sheen-finish now trending in fabricated contemporary sculpture. The tactility of Gault’s work is integral to the sentiments and values that lie at the heart of her work; they draw you in, they demand you to look closer and they make you pause for consideration. “Cithra” is an exhibition unmoored from the trappings and distractions of the contemporary world, the aesthetics of which are synonymous with new digital media, technologies and industries. Once people looked up into the heavens to the ancient Gods as the masters of their fates. Instead we now look blankly into impervious screens only to see our contemporary bureaucrats push and pull new agendas of green technology and climate action into woeful effect and squander our fates by employing the arts of economic demagoguery. In this dog eat dog world some have been bred to be obedient whilst others remain red in tooth and claw.

“Cithra” is a much needed antidote to all the noise created by talks about climate change, ecology and the environment. Actual contemplation about our relationship with nature, genuinely reflecting on where we have come from, what we have achieved and how we should progress from here is way more radical than the vitriolic headlines of the media sphere. Before humanity can progress forwards it needs to take stock, it needs to meditate on our current situation. It needs the space and time to breathe. It needs the cues, prompts and the signals to help direct thought in a meaningful way and with “Cithra”, Gault has provided just that.

Author: Afterview

Photographs : Afterview