Reggie's Roller Palace
Olivia Brown’s installation, Reggie’s Roller Palace, is now on show at the Mission Gallery until 8 January
This is Olivia Brown’s largest installation to date and includes over 100 ceramic dogs, plus the eponymous Reggie the Rat and an array of props including souvenir stands, booking kiosks, a judges’ panel and mini arena – in fact all that’s needed to create the set for a doggy roller derby. This event – inspired by human competitions such as the X Factor or Strictly Come Dancing – is watched by a canine audience enthralled by the on-stage pyrotechnics of Kenny and his display team. Full of witty details such as the pouting booking clerk (complete with pink nails to match her curly pink wig), this is an exuberant, delightfully over-the-top installation. But there’s also a more serious side to it, as Brown uses her installation to parody our cult of the celebrity and ‘worship of the worthless’. She draws attention to how celebrities involved in this type of event become marketing machines endorsing products or creating brands with an authority simply derived from their often inane achievements.
www.missiongallery.co.uk
