Get ready to immerse yourself in the mesmerizing world of Marguerite Humeau’s ‘sk/ey-‘ installation at ICA Miami, where the boundaries between inorganic and organic are expertly blurred.
One Fine Show: Marguerite Humeau‘s ‘sk/ey-‘ at ICA Miami
The artist’s newly commissioned sculptures and video are the clearest distillation of her aesthetics to date.
Marguerite Humeau is a French artist known for her thought-provoking and immersive installations.
Born in 1986, she has gained international recognition for her work that explores the intersection of art, science, and technology.
Humeau's projects often involve the creation of fictional species, allowing audiences to engage with the unknown and challenge their perceptions.
Her work has been exhibited globally, including at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
A World Where Inorganic Meets Organic
Marguerite Humeau‘s work is reminiscent of J.G. Ballard‘s science fiction, where the inorganic merges with the organic, particularly when it comes to animals. This concept is beautifully exemplified in ‘sk/ey-,’ her exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami.
Fantastical Mergings
Visitors to the carpeted room of the show are greeted with ‘Skult (The Uprooted)‘ (2024), a tree-like sculpture made from an array of materials, including dyed laser-cut silk, beeswax, hand-blown glass, milled walnut, polystyrene foam, epoxy resin, fiberglass, cotton, and steel. The result is an oversized piece of driftwood that feels remarkably natural and friendly, despite its technological underpinnings.
A Mysterious Mutation
The exhibition shares its title with the video piece, which comes from the antiquated, proto-Indo-European term for shedding or splitting, ‘sk-ey,’ alluding to a mysterious mutation of the Earth. In it, the soil peels off the earth and, amidst the buzzing of bees, turns into flying creatures that can be found on the wall as sculptures.
Non-Threatening Creatures
Her flying creatures drape their wing-cloaks around themselves in a dramatic fashion, conveying an air of non-threatening elegance. This is a major feat, as they could easily have been perceived as grotesque or menacing.
Deciphering Non-Human Language
The show also features ‘Skaza (The Conference in the Air III)‘ (2024), which offers swollen lips of hand-blown glass that seem to defy being kissed without appearing grotesque. Returning to the floor, we find ‘Skero (The Dormant)‘ (2024), a sculpture that feels like ‘Skult‘ but is marked by appendages that might be poking in the air as the creature sleeps or reaching up to the sky as it grows.
A Joyful Experience
Marguerite Humeau‘s ‘sk/ey-‘ is an immersive installation that represents the clearest distillation of her aesthetics yet. It is a joy to try to decipher what these beings have to teach us, and this show is not to be missed.
The exhibition is on view at ICA Miami through March 30, 2025.
- observer.com | One Fine Show: Marguerite Humeau’s “*sk*/ey ” at ICA Miami
