At the core of Michael Doerksen‘s enigmatic sculptural works, currently on show at Galerie Lilian Rodriguez, are the materials and objects the artist uses to assemble his structures. Doerksen combines Hydro pole fragments, flower petals, and moss, with plaster replicas of ice cream cones and doughnuts, repurposing their meaning and obliquely hinting at a narrative.

I was treading carefully through the exhibition space, with the distinct the feeling that I was being baited with the cascade of brightly coloured soft-ice cream cones and giant doughnuts piled around the gallery’s central column. The piece Altar confirmed my suspicion. A pile of ice-cream scoops lies tantalizingly on a rectangular bed of moss – but look again, and you’ll notice that the moss-bed is actually a pair of giant jaws, ready to snap. Walk around the back of the sculpture and you’ll set of an alarm, chirping like a little frog.

The Hydro pole fragments, deeply wrinkled and pierced with rusted nails and scaffolding hooks, are lovingly decorated with clusters of flower petals. They serve as perches for humanoid forms, skeletal beings in relaxed poses who are napping, walking, taking a break. The sculptures are ambiguous, contradictory, their elements pulling in different direction.

Have a look around the exhibition in this interactive panorama.

Galerie Lilian Rodriguez, space 405
Michael Doerksen
March 17 – April 21, 2012
www.galerielilianrodriguez.com