A bit wierded out by some inspiration

I popped into the White Cube today on Hoxton Square as I had some rare downtime at work and thought it best to go and look at something rather than do random internettings. See some actual art for once. Breathe some fresh air. Get out. And given that the gallery is literally round the corner I had no excuse.

 (Image from thisislondon.co.uk) Dinos & Jake Chapman are currently showing, so in I wandered, managing to completely bypass the "this is what the show is all about" piece of paper that was left at the entrance. I've never seen any of their work before and to be honest the show felt somewhat disjointed to me and a bit random. Turns out they have both been working in separate studios and this is an amalgamation of their work; some is shown in Hoxton Square, some shown in Mason's Yard - I definitely got that sense without knowing it. I found it all a bit wierd and disquieting - the small children with strange animal parts morphed onto their faces, and religious statues with parts of their facial skin pulled back to reveal the muscles and bloody mess underneath or bloody animal tentacles emerging from mouths. Looking at the pieces very closely, they really are beautifully executed and the skill of their art sort of overtook my feelings of discomfort. The aim with this art I suppose is to inspire a reaction and that certainly happened for me.

And it made me reflect somewhat on my craft. By playing it a bit safer with what I make in order to appeal to more people am I actually denying my natural impulses? I always wanted to aim for a bit of an edge, to make stuff that is a bit marmite, not just for the sake of it, but because it's what interests me and gets my juices flowing. I think I'm running the risk of losing that. So all in all, this spur of the moment 30 mins of feeling a bit uncomfortable enjoying someone elses art has had quite an impact. I shall be pondering what to do about it. Hmm...