example
Ceal Floyer
Mutual Admiration, 2015
Two speakers standing in front of each other on stands, connected to two iPod Nanos playing two looped audio tracks
142,5 x 39 x 44 cm (55 7/8 x 15 3/8 x 17 3/8 in) each speaker on stand
142,5 x 84 x 44 cm (55 7/8 x 33 1/8 x 17 3/8 in) (overall)
Edition of 3
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CEAL FLOYER

 

 

Two speakers face each other uncomfortably close, playing the sound of clapping hands. The congratulatory gesture is slightly distorted and further undercut by its repetition. The work’s title, Mutual Admiration, adds an element of derision, as the term often refers to two persons entangled in a dynamic of uncritical giving of praise. Since we are listening, essentially to a dialogue of one, we may take this as Ceal Floyer’s wry comment on the requirements of an artist’s existence—the necessity of public display and longing for acclaim. This being said, there is of course also comfort to be had as beneficiary of mutual admiration.