Sibylle Ruppert's 'Frenzy of the Visible' presents disturbing visions at Project Native Informant

Project Native Informant in London is hosting 'Frenzy of the Visible,' the first UK exhibition of works by the late German-Swiss artist Sibylle Ruppert, running through 20 April. Ruppert, who died in 2011, created drawings, paintings, and collages featuring grisly, libidinous horror scenes that challenge moral and aesthetic puritanism. Her 1978 work 'La Bible du Mal' (Bible of Evil) depicts muscular, bulbous figures in grey and brown tones, with elements like a beetle with small breasts and a phallus resembling a shark. Other notable pieces include 'Ma Soeur mon Epouse' (1975), showing a crow-beaked being interacting with an androgynous figure, and 'La Fontaine' (1977), featuring a three-headed creature. Ruppert's art incorporates real-world objects, such as engines for lungs in 'Untitled' (1981) and leather kinkwear in 'Pour l'Anniversaire de B.A.' (1978), pointing to queer aesthetics. Her work evokes influences from Hans Bellmer, Max Ernst, and Hieronymus Bosch, while also referencing the occult sexuality of Kenneth Anger's 1954 film 'Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome' and Italian giallo cinema. Despite being overlooked during her lifetime, Ruppert received a retrospective at H.R. Giger's private museum in Zürich in 2010. The exhibition's black carpeted floor adds to the immersive experience, with Ruppert's visions suggesting a violent, fluid world that resonates with contemporary nihilist transhumanism.