Exo Mattresses n°VI 2015

Iseult Labote’s ‘Exo Mattresses n°VI’ captures a scene of domesticity and decay. There is something about the casual composition here that suggests a kind of off-hand directness, like the artist just stumbled upon this scene, and had to photograph it. The photograph's texture is gritty, contrasting the soft and patterned surfaces of the mattresses and fabrics. The light is muted, making the colors feel aged and faded, and casting long, creeping shadows over the mattresses. It reminds me of work by Wolfgang Tillmans, where the everyday takes on an almost reverential quality. There’s this red cloth draped in the upper left of the composition, that has a kind of melancholy beauty to it. The floral pattern of the blanket and the repeating, geometric patterns of the mattress both speak to time and the passage of use. Labote, like many artists, finds beauty in the overlooked. It's a reminder that art can be found anywhere, in the most unexpected corners of our lives.