‘Mirror and Bear’, by Jordan Wolfson - at Sadie Coles HQ

7 October 2024 to 2 November 2024 Sadie Coles HQ

Consisting of one solitary work, Jordan Wolfson's newest unveiling seeks to make you - literally - reflect on the higher powers that may keep us subjected.

When you walk in to Sadie Coles HQ, you will be greeted by only one artwork: a bears head, outlined with sinister text, with a mouth opening to reveal a mirror. 

Perhaps the symbolism here is heavy handed, yet beautifully multiplicitous in meaning: you and your life and your efforts are being eaten away at; you are consistently at threat of being chewed up and spat out by those more powerful than you; you're at the centre of a being which seeks to destroy; you're on the verge of destruction. 

And in the middle of it, what are you doing? You're likely looking back at yourself, taking a selfie, in some way revelling in and accepting the jaw that's about to close over you. 

The sinister text that surrounds the bear is contrasted by its cartoonish design - looking like a Disney-tinged fairground ride - with its lashes, decorative dots, and butterfly perched atop its nose, naturally making one reflect in the ways that the state apparatus dresses itself up in a joyful demeanour to oppress undetected.