A few exhibition thoughts to catch up on! First of all we have Rachal Bradley at Gasworks. A minimal show with small adjustments to an all but empty space which is always something we always warm to. The majority of the space is empty, the floor coated with natural resin, infused with a bespoke herbal tonic, dispensed by the artist’s sister, medical herbalist Lucie Bradley. The mixture was made following short interviews with all Gasworks’ permanent members of staff, in which they were asked questions about how the institution works and their roles within it, it is intended to remedy the organisation’s ailments. A slightly bizarre/hippie set of tools and thought processes but it’s used in a much different and more logical/slight way than we’re used to seeing these sorts of processes in e.g. a place with lots of windchimes and dreamcatchers.
Jerwood Space was showing some works by 3 different photographers, the most interesting for us was Lua Ribeira. All the works are built on a fear of dying. Motivated by escape from reality and the longing for mythological significance in contemporary life, the work is an allegorical exploration of the inevitable decay of the human body, in relation to classical mythology and religious symbols of mortality.
Then we had Copperfield, a show curated by artist and curator Doug Bowen. The title is Mantel and we found it an excellently curated exhibition. It was structured by commissioning a number of mantels and then arranging the artist’s work on and around them as if they were a collection in a household, telling the story of all their independent travels and adventures. In addition, all the work took on the role of this style of object, highlighting their trinket style qualities. Very intelligent curating, always exciting to see such a well thought out lens to view the work through.
Marguerite Humeau is the current ‘Art Now’ at Tate Britain and since it’s free and current it always seems appropriate to check it out. Unfortunately, it felt a little tacky and forced. It’s intended on being part temple, part laboratory for the industrial production of an elixir for eternal life but it just feels fake.
The newly re-opened Hayward Gallery has its first show in over 3 years. It’s a solo show by the photographer Andreas Gursky so it’s basically what it says on the tin but it was still very fun to see them on such an incredible scale. The photoshopped ones were our favourites, mostly because of their twisting of reality; they appear like real images but only as you look on do you see that they can’t possibly be. Not bad but we expect more from Hayward…
Then we had Mark Dion at Whitechapel. It was fun to see the giant birdcage library, a super tight set-up and a couple of the other prop-style creations evoked characters that observe, conserve or exploit the natural world.
We also attended Ryan Gander’s opening at Lisson Gallery. A very ambitious show where he’s turned the gallery into a giant sand-timer, having sculptures which are initially submerged on the top floor and then revealed, where sculptures on the lower floor become concealed in black sand. The show is also monochrome, only colours are black and white; walls, floor, artworks etc. A very succinct show.
Finally, we had Eloise Hawser at Somerset House. It’s titled, By the deep, by the mark and it’s all about hidden networks of liquid flow within our bodies and below the city of London. She’s collected a miscellany of medical imaging devices, engineering diagrams and other representations and tools of calibration and prediction, drawing parallels between extraordinary feats of civil engineering and the intricate inner workings of the human body. Both highly researched and well executed, would recommend.
