Jeering at a one-eyed man: Kendell Geers at the Steven Friedman, London, 1 March 2007, Art South Africa V5.4

Kendell Geers,
The Passion Considered, 2006,
1964 Vespa and spray paint,
107 x 56 x 170cm

Walking through The word made flesh, Kendell Geers’ recent solo show in London, I kept returning to a quote by Marquis de Sade: “You refuse to admit that vices exist, it is as unjust for you to punish them as it would be to jeer at a one-eyed man”. Like de Sade, Geers is no stranger to the relationship between vice and virtue and is also familiar with the tenuous relationship between human morality, politics and our Lady Justice. Geers and de Sade are however not alone here; the vain, the ambitious, in fact all kinds of so-called leaders are implicated. It is a dangerous and contested area. Were it not for the occasional court jester making a spectacle of it, it would remain the domain of gods and self-righteous sods only. To my mind, Geers is a modern-day jester, prodding at firmly held convictions and beliefs through his art. His primary tool is appropriation. Read more