'Seriously' at Sprüth Magers in London is an exhibition that takes itself lightly, embracing its own absurdity to make a point about the ridiculousness of social codes and power structures within the art world. Spread over four floors, the show features still and moving images of clowns, Star Wars figurines, dogs watching porn, colourless cheeseburgers, and artists running over a carton of milk - all attempts to challenge traditional notions of what art can be.
One work that particularly caught my attention was Martine Syms' "She Mad: The Non-Hero," a conceptual TikTok tale inspired by Lil Nas X's Life Story series. Borrowing the rapper's structure and tropes, Syms convincingly performs as an arts scene rising star sharing her struggles with health, depression and loneliness - a satire of social media mores that debunks ideas about success.
The show also features Louise Lawler's 1972-81 audio work "Birdcalls," which calls out art world sexism by screaming the names of 28 famous white male artists in different bird calls. The idea is to present nature as artifice, the same way art history is merely a constructed form of power - and it's both thought-provoking and hilarious.
A range of artists find humour in objects and assemblages, such as Thomas Demand with his witty photo of a slipper stuck under a door. Another wall is packed with banal and bland pictures of a vacuum cleaner, a slice of bread or a bucket - but their aim is not to be funny, rather, to highlight the absurdity of our attachment to these mundane things.
The show also includes works by Cindy Sherman and Aneta Grzeszykowska, who create recognisable parodies of Sherman's famous images.
However, the exhibition starts to grate when it tries to parody other art - Ruff re-does Fischli/Weiss, Jonathan Monk nods to Lawler, John Waters sends up Gursky. But jokes don't really work unless you get the art history references.
The biggest laughs come courtesy of John Smith's 12-minute video "The Girl Chewing Gum," which is shot on 16mm and features a voice shouting directions to the action taking place on a street in London, but the director is actually a narrator describing the movements of unwitting passersby with increasingly fantastical relish.
Ultimately, 'Seriously' at Sprüth Magers is less about laughter and more about humour as a tool for challenging politics and values. With playfulness and wit, conceptual artists pushed photography past the documentary into a less stable, more experimental place - but can conceptual art make you belly laugh? Probably not.
One work that particularly caught my attention was Martine Syms' "She Mad: The Non-Hero," a conceptual TikTok tale inspired by Lil Nas X's Life Story series. Borrowing the rapper's structure and tropes, Syms convincingly performs as an arts scene rising star sharing her struggles with health, depression and loneliness - a satire of social media mores that debunks ideas about success.
The show also features Louise Lawler's 1972-81 audio work "Birdcalls," which calls out art world sexism by screaming the names of 28 famous white male artists in different bird calls. The idea is to present nature as artifice, the same way art history is merely a constructed form of power - and it's both thought-provoking and hilarious.
A range of artists find humour in objects and assemblages, such as Thomas Demand with his witty photo of a slipper stuck under a door. Another wall is packed with banal and bland pictures of a vacuum cleaner, a slice of bread or a bucket - but their aim is not to be funny, rather, to highlight the absurdity of our attachment to these mundane things.
The show also includes works by Cindy Sherman and Aneta Grzeszykowska, who create recognisable parodies of Sherman's famous images.
However, the exhibition starts to grate when it tries to parody other art - Ruff re-does Fischli/Weiss, Jonathan Monk nods to Lawler, John Waters sends up Gursky. But jokes don't really work unless you get the art history references.
The biggest laughs come courtesy of John Smith's 12-minute video "The Girl Chewing Gum," which is shot on 16mm and features a voice shouting directions to the action taking place on a street in London, but the director is actually a narrator describing the movements of unwitting passersby with increasingly fantastical relish.
Ultimately, 'Seriously' at Sprüth Magers is less about laughter and more about humour as a tool for challenging politics and values. With playfulness and wit, conceptual artists pushed photography past the documentary into a less stable, more experimental place - but can conceptual art make you belly laugh? Probably not.
But seriously, the show is trying to say something deeper about power and social codes. I think its cool how it uses humor as a way to challenge those norms. I mean who wouldn't chuckle at a clown or a Star Wars figurine in an art exhibition? 
The problem is, sometimes the jokes feel forced when they're trying too hard to reference art history. But overall, i think the show is doing something interesting and thought-provoking.
. Like, these artists are using humor as a way to subvert expectations, but aren't they still perpetuating some kind of performance or act? It's like, can you ever truly break free from the notion that everything is staged for our entertainment?
. But at the same time, isn't their 'satire' just another form of performance art that reinforces the idea that we're all just putting on a show for each other? It's like, are we ever really able to let our guards down and be ourselves, or is everything always about projecting some image or persona? 
, like who wouldn't want to watch dogs watching porn or clowns just chillin' on a couch? 
but seriously though, it's like the artists are poking fun at how silly art can be, and also kinda critiquing us for taking ourselves too seriously. Martine Syms' piece is especially sharp 
, skewering social media culture and what we think of as 'success'.
I mean, who wouldn't want to see Star Wars figurines and dogs watching porn displayed as "art"? It's like they're saying, "Hey, we know this stuff is ridiculous, but it's also kinda deep." And Martine Syms' TikTok-inspired piece is everything - it's like she's taking the art world by storm and then tearing it down with humor. 
I love how Louise Lawler's work calls out sexism in the art world too - it's about time someone screamed "fowl play" (get it? bird calls? 
, seriously though, this show's got some great points about social codes & power structures in the art world 
. Martine Syms' piece is a total roast of social media 
. The only thing that didn't quite land was when it tried to parody other art 
!
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it's literally absurd but I love it 
they're tackling social codes and power structures within the art world with some pretty wild ideas like artists running over a carton of milk or dogs watching porn 
. Martine Syms' "She Mad: The Non-Hero" is so funny at poking fun at social media mores, I love how she's using Lil Nas X's format to talk about her struggles with mental health 
. And Louise Lawler's "Birdcalls" is hilarious and thought-provoking at the same time 
... still, the whole show is really thought-provoking & i loved how it pokes fun at social media mores & the struggles of being a "rising star" in the art world 
I mean I liked some of the pieces, especially the birdcalls thing 
But seriously, why did they have to parody other artists tho? It felt like they were trying too hard to be cool 
... maybe thats just me though 
. Overall, I think this exhibition is all about pushing boundaries and experimenting with new ways of creating art 
.
. The only thing that was a bit meh for me was when they tried to parody other art - it just didn't land as well. But overall, I think this show is a real masterclass in using humor to challenge politics and values 
. It's like they're saying, "Hey, if we're gonna play by the rules of high art, let's at least acknowledge that it's all a bit ridiculous" 
, trying to be all clever and stuff. I mean, I loved Martine Syms' TikTok tale - it's so sharp-tongued 
.
. So yeah, 'Seriously' might not be the most laugh-out-loud exhibition, but it's definitely making me think 
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. Some jokes just didn't land, and I'm not sure if they were meant to 
!
. Like, who needs that much cheeseburger or milk carton