We are pleased to announce Matt O’dell’s exhibition New Worship.

In this new body of work, O’dell focuses on ideas surrounding belief systems, themes of alienation and paranoia, and explores the architectures and spaces used by ‘outsider’ groups.

The sculptures in New Worship point towards individuals and groups who, have rejected ‘accepted’ ideas and have attempted to forge their own belief systems. These groups are notably found at the source of conspiracy theories, or in various sects that propose a new spiritual paradigm.

The sculpture that gives the exhibition its title, New Worship, consists of three imposing towers that seem to be observing the viewer. The towers look like gigantic public address systems or wireless telephone masts. The towers are presented upon tall wooden supports that add to the monumentality of the sculptures, reinforcing the idea that the aesthetic is inspired by communication systems used in rallying the masses, staging protests or broadcasting propaganda.

Falling somewhere between a religious sermon and a political manifesto, the soundtrack broadcast from the loudspeakers creates a system of communication between the work and the viewer. The broadcast makes numerous biblical references, suggesting a political meeting or religious revival.

The three sculptures that form Amphitheater/Rally Ground/Meditative Arena, consist of architectural spaces that provide an environment where beliefs can be taught, learnt and contemplated. In reality, the architecture of the spaces would be colossal, where the spaces would operate as a way of controlling large groups, with all activity controlled and subjected to take place within the perimeters of the triangular form.

Representing a new direction in O’dell’s practice, the works in the exhibition do not refer to a specific event (as in the artist’s earlier works like World Trade Center, New York, September 11th, 2001, where title and form refer directly to the real event). Rather, New Worship embodies a general phenomenon and examines the relationship between fact and fiction, in which the events themselves are often overlooked in favor of a myth that is created around them.