Jewel Tones

Jewel Tones is an exhibition of new work by Mandy El-Sayegh, conceived for Thaddaeus Ropac London. El-Sayegh presents a new body of paintings, situated within an environment moulded to explore the devices which frame consumer desires and perceptions of luxury in the contemporary world.

Known for using collected print and digital media as source material, in recent years El-Sayegh has created works which underscore the discordant collisions in published matter between the promotion of consumption on one hand, and reportage of horrifying violence on the other. These can be found literally side-by-side in the newspapers collected, collaged and silkscreened in her works, where advertising for diamonds adjoins headlines on unfolding wars.

In Jewel Tones, the artist explores the notion of luxury as an aesthetic and affective experience, playing with devices used in spaces of exclusivity designed to connote wealth: private members’ clubs and high-end department stores, environments engineered to affect the psychological state of the consumer. 

Within this realm of luxe surfaces, El-Sayegh’s richly-hued paintings appear harmonious but, as ever, the presence of collaged and silkscreened layers gives glimpses of the turmoil the artist observes in the present world. The exhibition creates a sense of dissonant, dual realities, hinting at a landscape of apathy, disassociation and paranoia underpinning a veneer of opulence.