Haunch of Venison, London Acquired from the above by the present owner
Catalogue Essay
Dyscrasia presents a mandala-like spiraling chart, recording the various manners by which philosophers, psychologists, and Crayola have accorded properties and traits to personality types by an historical relationship to the fours humours of the human body. Although the four humour theory was medically disproved almost 500 year ago it still thrives as a basis for personality analysis in modern psychiatry. The chart documents the historical motion of these various theories, originating in ancient Greece, before moving outwards across Europe and then making the transatlantic jump during the Second World War. The chart is brought up to date using Crayola's millennial survey of 'America's Favorite Colors', listing the personality types of people who choose specific colors, again reiterating the connection to the basic four humor theory.
Jamie Shovlin (b. 1978, British) is a conceptual artist interested in the tension between truth and fiction, reality and invention. His painstakingly researched and executed works question the way in which we map and classify the world around us in order to understand it.
Crayola crayons and archival inkjet print on Hahnemuhle photo rag paper 38 7/8 x 38 7/8 in. (98.7 x 98.7 cm) Executed in 2007, this work is from an edition of 3.