Samuel Hodge: The Imponderable Archive

Overview

In the depths of a Kings Cross car park, in an abandoned mechanic’s office you might find a glory hole that defies anonymity, an unassuming lounge room of domestic divas, a pair of Sharpie-stained fashionistas, and an eroticised man on crutches.

Dividing his time between Sydney and Berlin, artist Samuel Hodge has a new solo exhibition at Alaska Projects that oozes cheeky eroticism, striking at an intersection between fashion, art and sex. The Imponderable Archive consists of fragmented stories and visual gags; each photograph feels like a punchline without the preamble. As suggested by the title, Hodge's art is an accumulation of vernacular moments, yet vacated of context or justification, they acquire a strange humour and absurdity.

Untitled is a tightly framed photograph, crowded with sequins, shiny fabrics and puffy layers. The faces of the female sitters are cut out. Not blurred or black-lined; they are pointedly missing. This gives the work a temporal placelessness: Is this a morning after scene? Or the mandatory pre-shot before a night out? The sheer banality of the domestic setting with its flaws and makeshift repairs stands in contrast with the flamboyant costumes. It has an air of comedic excess, perhaps the kind of clashing priorities typical of a traveller/gypsy wedding.

In another work, Dumb Dumber, Hodge refers to the incident where a pair of cluey would-be-thieves decided to draw on their disguises. However, instead of permanent marker, Hodge employs Chanel cosmetics in his appropriation. Similar to the glamour animals of Untitled, there is a sense that the fashion envelope is being pushed to the point of absurdism.

The nude subject of Crutches gazes unapologetically into the camera lens, seductively even. The simple composition, as if dug out of a personal collection, heightens the sense of voyeurism. Equipped with the iconic Freddy Mercury moustache, there is a definite air of '80s erotica. In a similar vein, No Guts No Glory Hole tears open a gaping hole in sexual anonymity. The visual exchange between the two men suggests a fine line between tenderness and sleaze. In this way, Hodge presents a kind of slapstick re-imagining of homoerotic fetishism that feels both funny and slightly invasive. Whilst Untitled and Dumb and Dumber emphasise Hodge's background as a fashion photographer, there is perhaps a sense of vulnerability in these latter works that speaks a little more deeply about desire and longing.

Though this selective exhibition, comprising of just four works, may not seem particularly 'archival', the floating images, without context or history, invite hypothesising; there is a wealth of archival material that is simply not visible. The Imponderable Archive is an exhibition that takes joy in the humour and poignancy of loose ends. It should also be noted that Hodge moves between shooting for high-end fashion magazines and the gallery space with impressive ease.