n o l a n e p o l i c y

Got some hi-res images of the signs, perhaps a little too hi-res but they still look good! Ideally, we would like them to be hung at 7ft (minimum height road signs in UK can be hung) and only one per wall. Hopefully at some point we can get some images that reflect this.

g a l l e r y t u r n e d n i g h t c l u b

Finally managed to see Patrick Goddard at Seventeen and it did not disappoint! As you walk down the stairs of there’s a sign that warns of an uneven floor. The first room has an underground club-like feel, though illuminated with the type of UV lighting as a way to deter intravenous drug use. It’s hard to move without apprehension: the entire gallery floor is paved with highly uneven bricks. These concrete blocks are not a statement on what art is, or can be, in the manner of Carl Andre. Goddard’s blocks create a sense of potentially dangerous disorientation and recall the hostile architecture used in many cities to prevent the homeless from sleeping rough. This sense of unease is further accentuated by the black and white slides from London Zoo that are being projected on the gallery’s dark walls: the close-ups of the animals, the serene lake and the happy family shots convey a selective nostalgia that is violently interrupted by pounding “Drill” music that bleeds in from the next room. In the second exhibition gallery and still walking on deterrent bricks, one is confronted with a life-size projection of the artist, irreverently dancing. Frustration, imploding anger, nihilism, exhaustion. Stylistically inconsistent and conceptually unflinching, Patrick Goddard’s works match our incongruent lives and reflect urban culture today. In modern cities where landscape, language and emotions are monitored, mediated and controlled, how can one smash the system without being smashed? Real Estates, the title of the exhibition, refers to the world around us and our present state of being, but also extends to our state of mind. And although modern-day utopias are easily dismissed as nostalgic reverberations, the author, the artist – any artist – can still fantasise about them. And then be the one to deliriously shatter them.

p o l i t i c a l w i t h a b i g p

We’ve got some new work in the pipeline for an exhibition in Coventry. The work is set in an alternative future within which the citizens have united post-Brexit and have made great strides into healing the wounds caused by the current government. Community Unions comprised of local people are plentiful, giving previously muted individuals a voice within their communities, these unions have power locally, however, the government will only accept their decisions as advisory. Try as they might the community unions have only ever managed to change and alter local policy; the power to influence major and international policy still remains within the clutches of the current failing government. Throughout the turmoil following Brexit, the government somehow managed to cling to power. With drastically low opinion polls for both major parties, their reputation lays in tatters and their decision making remains hugely undermined by their performance throughout the immediate, post-Brexit financial crisis. Bailed out by the public, both financially and by innovative policies generated through the hard work of the Community Unions, the current government has taken the decision to make colossal structural change throughout the country. 

After intense lobbying and analysis of focus groups, the current government has taken the decision that, in order to achieve a similar level of equality as generated by the Community Unions, they must reduce the level of bureaucracy present in the current climate. Under pressure to deliver and implement this policy before the 2022 General Election, they rush out their ‘No Lanes, No Lines’ policy. A decree that orders local councils to take steps to remove the “Lanes and Lines that divide our society”, this includes but is not limited to: all road markings (road users can drive on any side of the road that suits them), lanes at local swimming pools, all markings on sports pitches, and queuing in general, to name just a few. 

The work itself comprises of three designs for a selection of fictitious road signs issued by the government as part of the implication of their ‘No Lanes, No Lines’ policy. These signs will be the exact dimensions as the current UK road signs and (if there is space in the gallery) hung at 7ft; the minimum height road signs are instructed to be installed by UK law. Whilst working as a satire of the government’s misunderstanding of the general public opinion’s it suggests that nobody really knows which direction we are heading in, surprisingly, not even the people in charge.

t h e o n e a b o u t f r i e n d s

This week we finished reading a book about the highly popular TV show Friends. It’s called ‘I'll Be There for You: The one about Friends’ and it’s the definitive retrospective of Friends, exploring all aspects of the show from its unlikely origins to the elusive reasons why we still watch it. The author Kelsey Miller is a journalist and pop culture expert and relives the show's most iconic moments, analyses the ways in which Friends is occasionally problematic and examines the many trends it inspired, from the rise of coffee-shop culture to Friendsgivings to the ultimate 90s haircut, the Rachel. Weaving incisive commentary, revelatory interviews and behind-the-scenes anecdotes involving high-profile guest stars, it’s the most comprehensive take on Friends. We would really like to use the new knowledge from the book to make some art about friends. There are some obvious issues, the first being that it’s so important to so many people, secondly that it’s such a massive symbol and therefore carries so much meaning if it’s appropriated. We’ll continue thinking about it and see what comes up. Our initial thoughts are about the side characters, extras, and sets that make this fictional world so believable and comforting. Another thing we were considering was the archetypal nature of the characters and how the audience relate to each of them for different reasons.

w e ' r e g o i n g o n a n a r t h u n t

Headed round to some exhibitions this week starting with Rachel Rose at Pilar Corrias. Some incredible lenses are positioned on a lovely carpeted floor, with a film being the main focus of attraction. The film appears like a fairly big project, multiple actors all in full period costumes. Even with these intricate details the film falls a little flat, we weren’t really sure what it was about or how it related to the lenses. Always appreciate a carpeted floor though… 

Next up was Andy Holden at the Cinema Museum. It’s a pretty exciting place – so much film paraphernalia all around. The film on show is his masterpiece ‘Laws of Motion in a Cartoon Landscape’ which examines the formation of ‘laws’ within cartoons as a way of making sense of the world we are now within, a space where anything could potentially happen. It’s made from hundreds of cartoons clips and adopts a part-lecture, part-documentary, part-conspiracy theory tone, with the artist rendered as a cartoon avatar in order to narrate his theory. Some of our favourite laws are “Everything falls faster than an anvil” and “Anybody suspended in space will remain in space until made aware of its situation”, and these are mixed with Greek myths, philosophy, politics, physics and the history of animation to create an hour long exploration of the world as an irrational space where anything can happen, yet certain things reoccur, and in which a new set of Laws have formed. We’ve now seen it a handful of times and it get better every time. 

Then we had ‘Subversive Stitch’ at TJ Boulting. Taking its name from Art Historian and prominent feminist Rozsika Parker’s 1984 book and 1988 touring exhibition ‘The Subversive Stitch – Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine’, it presentsa variety of textile-based artworks. Spanning the mediums of embroidery, weaving, tapestry, clothing and sculpture, it builds upon the rich history of the previously disregarded craft, considered a purely feminine and domesticated preoccupation until the twofold influence of both the Arts and Craft movement and the Suffrage movement, of the late 19th and early 20th century respectively, co-opted and subverted the medium, bringing it to the forefront of avant garde artistic practice. In contemporary art textile work retain that forward-thinking aesthetic, imbued with political, cultural and innovative touchstones usually associated with more traditional mediums. It was a really tight show, very beautiful and well-made objects with a consistent theme. 

Finally, we had isthisit? taking over Harlesden High Street for the 6th issue of their book which was all about fake news. As always it was a really diverse show, paintings, sculptures, videos and algorithms – there’s plenty to get your teeth stuck into. A work that stuck out was the fictional newspaper by Frank Wasser which depicts an alternative future where trump is assassinated. Overall a great show with so many exciting artists.

c o n d o p a r t 0 2

It’s the final week to catch the remainder of the condo shows so we ran around as many as possible. Pilar Corias was first on the list and as you enter you get Ken Okiishi a personal solo show composed by installation, video and photographs concerning the artist’s meditation on his childhood. All their childhood possessions are in boxes that fill the gallery floor. It’s actually a very hard hitting show and made us think about identity and how having such a mixed and complex one might make you feel like you have no true home. 

For Condo, the gallery’s basement had a film by artist duo Felix Bernstein & Gabe Rubin all about gender, transgender and queerness. With such over the top costumes it’s impossible not to think about Rachel Maclean. 

Sadie Coles has some boring sculptures and some even more boring paintings. 

Arcadia Missa’s new space is so incredibly small. The busts are fairly horrible but was fun to have a glittery floor. 

Rodeo had a huge, immersive and site-specific exhibition by Adriano Amaral. Reminded us a lot of old sci-fi films which is never bad but the sculptures were a bit too much. 

Southard Reid was quite bland but funny to see Bedwyr Williams’ mocking ink drawings that we’ve been seeing on Instagram for so long now. 

Finally, we had Cork Street hosting Koppe Astner, Project Native Informant, Mother’s Tankstation and Dan Gunn. The only work which we actually enjoyed in the building was ‘XOXO, Safety Net’ by DIS Collective. The video imagines Serena and Blair embracing a different sort of safety net, namely, socialism, in between checking their gold Motorola phones. It also features an ersatz Gossip Girl cast delivering socialist wisdom like “Workers should benefit from the surplus value they create,” and “Tax income from property, not labour,” and “End inheritance, bring back the death tax.” 

And some good news, we got into the next bf film festival which is going to be held in Leeds and again shown at SET in Dalston! We’re going to be showing ‘Story Time with Mr. Orange’ and it’s nice to have the piece show as it was made about a year ago ad since it was before the degree show it kind of got a bit swallowed by the process.

t h e r e ' s s o m e t h i n g a b o u t a r c h i t e c t u r a l m o d e l s . . .

We took a trip to Porto which was really fun! Great to get a sunny holiday in during the winter. While we were there we managed to see the infamous Anish Kapoor exhibition where a visitor fell into the ‘infinite’ black hole he built. Other than it being great to see something so well covered by the news, the show itself was quite something. Our favourite room was one full of all these architectural models for either realised projects or future ones. Some were even fictional or speculative, no actual location in mind or we currently lack the technology but maybe they’ll be realised eventually. It would be amazing to have a model like one of those made, there’s something about them which is so exciting. Perhaps it’s their potential to be so much more than they are…could also just be that small versions or things which are usually big is weird.