CABINETS

Artist Statement

In CABINETS, Lucas Grogan takes the exhibition’s namesake as a starting point. Rather than the usual contents found in medicine cabinets, “good rooms” and libraries, his cabinets of are filled with an unreal assortment of things we need, things we want and things we can’t forget.

Some Cabinets operate like portraiture; collections that combine the aspirational and impossible with the low brow and familiar. Others like time-capsules, whereby every book title is a competing and conflicting element of the zeitgeist. Or like THE TEST, a combination of both, where the viewer must collect and follow their own thoughts, feelings and experiences to an ultimate resolution. They’re introspective, private and showy all at once. 

Newcastle based Lucas Grogan’s distinctive visual language has developed over the years to coalesce into his recognisable style. He uses painting, drawing, needlepoint and installation to explore themes of isolation, inclusion and cultural collisions, through an autobiographical lens. His works are interwoven with dry wit and a piercing sense of humour.