Hard Candy at Casbah Gallery
Sometimes it is the art, sometimes the titles and then again at other times it’s the name of the show itself that grabs the headlines. In Chelsea Pascoe’s case, showing at the Casbah in Hamilton, it’s definitely the latter. Called Hard Candy, the nomenclature couldn’t come with more sexual innuendo if it tried. And just in case you might have missed the references, on the handout sheet, reverse side, there is a handy etymological breakdown of all the various allusions gathered together in this one voluptuous and innocently carnal phrase. The unpacking of Hard Candy begins first with the harmless literal thing in itself – a boiled sugar sweet (of which there were colourful samples to imbibe at the opening) to the more esoteric – an under-aged attractive gullible girl, to the final piece de resistance where all is laid bare – an erect penis, because, and I quote, “bitches like to suck on it as if it were candy.” Gulp! That the art itself, made up of tissue paper might cause further scatological comment …