The physical (im)possibility of jumping over The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living

Thank you to everyone who came out to witness the Jumping of the Shark. Referring to an episode of Happy Days ‘Jumping the shark is an idiom used to describe the moment of downturn for a previously successful enterprise. The phrase was originally used to denote the point in a television program's history where the plot spins off into absurd story lines or unlikely characterizations… often the result of efforts to revive interest in a show whose viewership has begun to decline.’ Wikipedia

‘Shock art is the safest kind of art than an artist can go into the business of making today.’ Lynne Munson

Based between London and New York, Isobel Shirley uses both her practice to address the different functions of the art world, and the roles created within it. Whilst promoting interaction and discourse, her work often uses a knowing humour to question her own intentions as an artist and motivations for producing work. Using the platform of her first solo exhibition Shirley questions the implications of an artist. Always striving to make that piece of work that will make your mark, yet dreading forever being associated with it and pigeon holed.

During her exhibition at Happy Collaborationists, Shirley presented a body of work from her ongoing mission to jump over Damien Hirst’s The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. Happy C presented Shirley's training and obsessive year and a half long preparations, culminating in a performance of death defying feats, Shirley asks the question, ‘Is it possible to jump the art shark?’ and if so ‘Where do you go from there?’

Those of you who came out to witness now know the truth, you can jump the shark and Happy C is looking forward to working with Isobel Shirley again to see just where she goes from here!