SLUG EGGS

Bree Apperley 

The Cube 
January 17 to May 2, 2026 

Curated by Craig WIllms 

In her new body of work, Slug Eggs, Bree Apperley explores the impact of technology on our society, feminine expression in a capitalist system, and what she sees as the compromised nature of modern life. Through a playful display of repurposed objects and photographs, the ubiquitous white gallery plinth and typical framing devices are disrupted and reimagined.

Apperley’s interpretation of the world and aesthetic vision proposes an alternative to our current fraught cultural moment. Fueled by observations of a rapidly changing world, Slug Eggs presents an array of materials and approaches in dialogue with what the artist terms “the torturous inanity of house-flipping grey paint and cyber trucks.” Common consumer and utilitarian items are repurposed and coupled with handmade items to form wall hangings and sculptures that mash up opposing means of production. Some materials, including a cascading assemblage of CDs, suggest a nostalgic longing for technology of the past. Apperley's unexpected combination of materials introduces new meaning and asks the viewer to consider these objects anew, beyond their intended function.

With the proliferation of smartphones, every moment is captured and posted on social media. The screen becomes our eyes and acts as a buffer between our experience and perception of reality in front of us. Apperley critically incorporates printed photographs as an invitation to engage with and reflect upon the world around us rather than through a virtual filtered version of the world. She reconsiders the reproducibility of the image and the loss of meaning in photographs by drawing attention to seemingly banal, but compelling, everyday moments. Apperley further recontextualizes the photograph by printing her images on textiles, presenting them as considered and crafted tapestries. This visual strategy moves away from the flat two-dimensional grid configuration of social media and infuses meaning, much like the decision to print only the photographs that recall loved ones or memorable moments, ones that help define our human experience.

Apperley’s multimedia installation draws on strategies taken up by Arte Povera, the 1960s Italian art movement that saw art as a revolutionary tool against the increasing monetization of art, rampant industrialization, and consumerism. Apperley connects the context of this movement to the increasingly consumer driven space of the internet today, with its proliferation of AI generated imagery and the exploitative practices of capitalism that corrupt the communal potential and original dream of virtual space. Her work points to the changing nature of cyberspace since its inception, shifting from a platform that nurtured shared interests and connection to one that thrives on the increasing isolation and disenfranchisement of its users. Increasingly, the priority is on paid views, Artificial Intelligence, advertisements, and websites primarily peddling products and services.

Bringing together eclectic materials that offer uncanny moments of discovery, Slug Eggs shifts us away from the disconnection inherent in digital interfaces and prompts human and material connection.

Bree Apperley
Shrine, 2025
digital photo