For his forthcoming solo exhibition at MW projects Alastair Mackie will be presenting a body of new sculptures. Mackie’s practice is one of contradiction. He brings together disparate elements (Capitol Hill and manure, US Army helmets and Islamic designs) in meticulously constructed works that suggest an obsessive craftsman. However through the uniting of these conflicting elements, Mackie does not aim to critique, he leaves judgement open to the viewer, confronting them with the internal conflict of his works. This conflict is mirrored in the viewer’s experience. From a distance his works appear to be beautiful objects, the result of painstaking construction processes. However, on closer inspection the true nature of the materials is revealed. What seems to be a cute toy mouse is in fact a model constructed from remains found in owl faeces. The resulting sculpture acts as a memorial to the hundreds of mice killed to facilitate its construction.

Through his practice Mackie aims to highlight the contradiction between nature’s beauty and the harshness of the daily struggle to survive in the wild. The notion of contradiction is carried through Mackie’s political concerns, with an interest   in warfare and the hypocrisy imbued in the western democratic system.