Catch It While You Can: MJ Colegate’s Late Night Whitechapel Installation ‘Repeat After Me’
Artist MJ Colegate has teamed up with Comma Collective in their temporary window space opposite the Whitechapel Gallery to present ‘Repeat After Me’, his latest installation, that uses repetitive patterns to encourage a positive mind-set.
Building his practice around digital, interactive work, MJ has taken the opportunity to branch out into the physical realm for his latest installation. This entails plastering the ten-meter window space with a hand printed mantra reading, ‘I AM WELL, I AM HAPPY’ over a stylised 3D mask. The bold colour scheme and repetitive nature of the pattern creates the illusion that there is a lack of structure to the space, symbolic of a backlit computer monitor. Aware of the rich cultural history within the area and it’s relevance to young artists, the message ‘i know you see me, i can see you too’ is printed across the width of the glass panes.
By acknowledging the presence of the individual in a vast and busy city, the work is a positive and optimistic break from the everyday. Designed to blend in during the day and stand out at night, the simplicity of each poster is amplified by the repeating imagery of the mask, which is able to transcend the window space, onto the streets outside. Printing the personal mantra onto clothing in addition to scattering posters with the same design throughout the surrounding areas of London, the Artist has curated a propaganda like element to the project. By doing this he hopes to unconsciously influence passers by who are unaware of the artworks purpose.
MJ Colegate is the first of a number of Artists collaborating with Comma Collective, a selection of graduates from the CASS Faculty of Art. The curatorial and artistic project takes place within the Window Space, aiming to challenge the spatial and conceptual boundaries of the space, whilst promoting upcoming Artists.
Until 2nd October 2016
Window Space, CASS Faculty of Art
London Metropolitan University
Whitechapel High St
London
E1 7PF
@mjcolegate
