Jonathan Baldock's 'The Soft Machine' debuts in Wales with sculptures and performances

Jonathan Baldock's inaugural solo exhibition in Wales, titled 'The Soft Machine', will feature sculptures, installations, and performances at Chapter in Cardiff until 29 June. The show references William S. Burroughs's 1961 novel, where the 'soft machine' symbolizes the human body besieged by parasites. Baldock's hybrid works, which serve as both objects and costumes, explore the dynamic between the body and sculpture, using modest materials transformed into monumental forms or knitted spaces for performers. Drawing from theatre, pagan ritual, and contemporary popular culture, the artist questions hierarchies of dependence and control, inviting visitors to reconsider relationships between maker, material, and viewer.