Seen some good art this week! South Kiosk had Franek Wardyński’s solo show ‘Reunification of the Motherland’ which was dealing with something close to our hearts, stock images. The exhibition was all about the sad afterlife of a stock photo, it just ends up in some boring catalogue that no one ever looks at. The show was questioning what if there was a spiritual reunification with the images’ suggested origin, placing it back to the environment that it had the ambition to depict. The show itself is a short film and photographic series portraying a stock footage banner forest on its pilgrimage back to reality. The artworks deal with the issue of life as a journey, recognition and the struggle of self. It’s about liberating the forest montage, a bit like when you buy a goldfish in the market and let it go because you want it to be free.
APT gallery had a short exhibition titled ‘Bodily Encounters’ with some exciting artists and it didn’t disappoint. All the works are beautifully made and there’s a consistency to them in that in all the works a body (individual or collective) is implied. There’s all these bodily traces, fleshy textures, stand-in bodily elements, architectural interventions and functional-looking objects that suggest human interaction. It’s very much show-don’t-tell which is always ideal. A favourite work was an amazing climbing frame by Emily Woolley that had all these small details such as hand prints in the poles as if the hulk had squeezed them a little too hard or suggesting that it was made of soft clay as opposed to metal.
GOOD GRIEF, CHARLIE BROWN! Was mighty disappointing. The shows at Somerset House always feel museum-y and a little too educational and this one was no exception. The installation of the artwork is just so unimaginative too – everything has its own stand and its really boring. The art itself is high quality but the show as a whole is really poor. To top it all off, Andy Holden’s new film wasn’t working! It was pretty much the only reason we wanted to go and we didn’t even get to see it! Fun to see David Musgrave’s intricate snoopy anatomy artwork and Ryan Gander’s replica of Charlie Brown’s kite caught in the infamous SKATE sign atop Somerset House. Our advice would be not to bother, it’s the best work in the show you’ll save yourself 16 quid…
