Tag Archives: Art

Ink Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery

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Ink
The New Ink Art from China
at the Saatchi Gallery 16-28 June 2012
and at Asia House July 2012

Xu Lei, Tree of Blue Underglaze, 2008, Ink and color on xuan paper, (213 x 125 cm)

Ink is an exhibition featuring the finest examples of contemporary Chinese Ink art at London’s landmark Saatchi gallery and subsequently at Asia House. The exhibition, curated by Michael Goedhuis, is the first comprehensive display of this genre to be shown in a public gallery of international standing and draws together major examples from distinguished private collections. Timed to coincide with London in June when art and antique collectors from all over the world descend on the capital, this cutting-edge show will feature ground-breaking artists from the internationally recognized Xu Lei to the avant-garde Qiu Anxiong. Ink will run from Saturday 16 June to Thursday 28 June 2012 at the Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s Square, London, SW3 4SQ.

“I am delighted to be working with the Saatchi Gallery to finally be able to provide the general public access to The New Ink Art which is perhaps the boldest pictorial experiment in art today. Artists trained in, and deeply knowledgeable of classical painting, are meeting the challenge of creating a pictorial language that is a convincing expression of the world of TODAY and in particular the transformed world of China. It is the theme of this exhibition to define just how audacious and innovative the best of these artists are, despite, or perhaps because of, their deep study of the past. Just as Cezanne and Picasso assimilated the work of Poussin and Velazquez and other Old Masters in order to develop their own revolutionary language, so the ink artists are grappling with the same challenge – how to express the transformation of their society with works that are meaningful precisely because they take account of the past in order to make sense of the present”.

The New Ink Art is increasingly being recognised, not only in China but also internationally, as the most audacious and idealistic movement in contemporary culture and is poised to shortly enter the mainstream of the art-world’s focus.

Michael Goedhuis, who was the first dealer in the west to recognize the significance of these radical innovations in Chinese culture, has concentrated in the past eighteen months on identifying for this exhibition the artists who are in the process of shifting the axis of Chinese aesthetics. It is for this reason that informed art-lovers and collectors and indeed the public at large will be drawn to the Saatchi Gallery for this culturally ground-breaking initiative. Although this exhibition is a loan show and works will therefore not be for sale, it is significant that the price range for the best of contemporary ink paintings is still very accessible by international standards.

A highlight of the exhibition is Tree of Blue Underglaze by the internationally feted artist Xu Lei who last year was the chosen artist for the design of the 2008 vintage Chateau Mouton Rothschild wine label. Inspired by the significance of the year 2008 for the Chinese and to highlight Mouton’s stature in the Chinese wine market, Mouton selected a Chinese artist. Xu Lei himself is one of China’s foremost artists and a leader in the innovative field of ink painting; he serves as the art director of the Today Art Museum in Beijing and is the editor-in-chief of the magazine ‘Classics’.

Qiu Jie, Mao in the Cotton Field , 2007, pencil on paper, (150 x 168 cm)

Other works of note include Gao Xingjian represented by the painting Dream Mountain (La Montagne de Rêve), who was born in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province in 1940. A writer, translator and dramatist he moved to Paris in the 1980s as a political refugee. Here he immersed himself in nature creating semi- abstracted landscapes, believing that art should not be used for political activism, but instead should be an expression of the soul. He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 2000. Qiu Jie, who was born in Shanghai in 1960, grew up during the most violent phase of the Cultural Revolution and by the age of 10 was nurturing his talent making copies of propaganda images from local newspapers. He creates images blending stark themes from the Cultural Revolution with striking elements from contemporary culture (see illustration).

Artists to be exhibited include:
Gao Xingjian (???), Gu Wenda (???), Huan Yong Ping (???),Jennifer Wen Ma (??), Li Huayi (???), Li Jin (??), Liu Dan (??), Liu Kuo-sung (???), Liu Qinghe (???), Liu Wei (??), Lo Ch’ing (??), Lu Hao (??), Qin Feng (??), Qiu Anxiong(???)?Qiu Deshu (???),Qiu Jie (??), Qiu Zhijie (???), Wang Dongling(???), Wei Ligang (???), Wilson Shieh ( ???), Wu Yi (??), Xu Bing (??),Xu Lei (??), Yang Jiechang (???), Yang Yanping (???), Yao Jui-chung (???), Zeng Shanqing (???), Zeng Xiaojun (???), and Zhang Huan (??).

After the Saatchi Gallery, the exhibition will travel to Asia House where it will remain until the end of July. Founded in London in 1996, Asia House is the leading pan-Asian, non-profit and non-political organisation in Britain.

Chris Moon 'Love Hearts' {Art}

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Chris Moon, the self-taught British painter dubbed ‘a new art superstar’ by Harper’s Bazaar.

Chris’s first solo exhibition was a sell-out late last year and was bought by many high profile collectors as well as celebrities such as Gemma Arterton.

Chris will exhibit his most recent work – his Love Heart series – at the forthcoming Full Rabbit exhibition in Shoreditch Town hall this February.

The Love Heart series features confectionery at various stages of disintegration to tell the story of past relationships, from First Love to One Night Stand. The works range from small, limited edition pieces from £300 to larger works up to £1,500.

Audio Architecture Arts presents FULL RABBIT which will run 24th February – 11th March 2012 at Shoreditch Town Hall, London EC1V 9LT Private View 23rd February 2012, 6-9pm Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday 12pm – 6pm

Full Rabbit is a group exhibition featuring the works of UK and Chinese artists, examining the notion of fortune. The exhibition will open in London from 24th February 2012 in the vast basement vaults of Shoreditch Town Hall.

Full Rabbit will showcase a multi-disciplinary collection of solo and collaborative work previously unseen in Britain, from twelve UK based and eight Chinese artists.

The artists featuring in the show include Catherine Shakespeare Lane, the British artist who showed a triptych featuring Francis Bacon’s dead body at James Birch’s A22 Gallery. CSL will exhibit unseen work including, Piss Artist for D.H, an installation of champagne bottle caps originally made for Damien Hirst, representing the celebration of 300 occasions, like drinks with Francis Bacon and other notorious Colony Room characters.

Much-talked about British painter Chris Moon (“A new art superstar”, Harper’s Bazaar), whose successful debut solo exhibition took place in London in 2011, will unveil his Love Heart series, eight installations using nostalgic Love Heart confectionary at various stages of disintegration to tell the story of past relationships, from First Love, to One Night Stand and Fantasy Girl.
Collaborative works between UK and Chinese artists include Local Whispers, shown at the V&A (January 2011), but further developed in Beijing to become a reference for the current interpretive situation. This involves Sui Jianguo, Experimenter En Couleur, Yan Jun, Jun Yuan, Ruan Qianrui, Christian Krupa and Ding Xin. Sound installation Rabbit Sequence by Experimenter En Couleur and Ruan Qianrui, sees 20 people ranging from 3-80 years old, asked to talk about their fortune and presents them as traditional Chinese clay ornaments.

Full Rabbit completes a collaborative project exploring perceptions of fortune by artists in both the UK and China. The Beijing show was exhibited at Platform China Institute of Contemporary Arts under the title Half Rabbit in June 2011, halfway into the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. Some of the Chinese artists in the forthcoming London show have never exhibited work outside their country.

Full Rabbit artists are: Maria Castro, Experimenter En Couleur, Paul Davis, Leslie Deere, Felicity Ford, Gogo J, Sui Jianguo, Yan Jun, Christian Krupa, Catherine Shakespeare Lane, Alex McLean, Chris Moon, Tim Norris, Ruan Qianrui, EunJoo Shin, Seaming To, Neil Webb, Ron Wright, Ding Xin and Jun Yuan.

Curator Alexis Bamforth of Audio Architecture Arts comments, “The reaction to the Half Rabbit exhibition in Beijing in 2011 was extremely positive, even though many of the Chinese artists were nervous about their works being in such a public show. We look forward to unveiling the London group show. We’re particularly proud of the collaborative work produced by British and Chinese artists and the struggles we overcame to make it happen. Full Rabbit celebrates the concept of fortune and the cultural exchange of work between UK and Chinese artists, and we are extremely excited to showcase some of the most interesting emerging talent in China, on an international stage.”

The exhibition opens to the public 24thFebruary to 11th March 2012. Entrance is free.

See www.audioarchitecture.co.uk for more information on Audio Architecture.

The Fringe Report Awards 2012

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John Park has run the Fringe Report for ten years, and I am as unhappy as the other 400 odd people who turned up to the Fringe Report Awards that The Fringe Report is ending this year. John has run the Fringe Report without profit and has connected everything and everyone on the fringe of London, and indeed, the UK.

James Aylett, James Yardley and Lynn Howes.

The Fringe Report Awards took place at Monday 6 February 2012 at The Leicester Square Theatre. The Leicester Square Theatre was packed with the great and good of Britain’s theatre and acting talent. [Disclaimer: I am an editor, writer and photographer for the Fringe Report].

Jack Bowman and Catherine Balavage

The awards were as fun as ever and the list of winners is below. Goodbye to the Fringe Report. The fringe now weeps at your loss.

Elliot Grove – Outstanding Achievement Award – Film
Steve Forster – Best PR – Theatre
Flavia Fraser-Cannon – Best Creative – Producer, Photographer, Publicist
Paul L Martin – Best Producer – Cabaret
Sibyl Madrigal – Best Music Curator (for Boat-Ting)
Performers Without Borders – Best Encouragers of Talent
Steve Henwood & Wendy Matthews – Best Festival Directors
Guy Chapman – Outstanding Achievement Award – PR
Kiki Kendrick – Best Creative – Actor and Writer
Becky Talbot – Best Presenter – Radio
Kevin Sampson – Outstanding Achievement Award – Literature & Film
Vocal Motions Elastic Theatre – Best Theatre Company
Sasha Regan – Best Venue Director
Adam Morley – Best Director – Theatre & Film
Ricky Dukes – Best Artistic Director (Lazarus Theatre Company)
James Hyland – Best Performer – Solo Show (for A Christmas Carol / Jacob Marley)
Paul Sayers & Simon Bolton – Best Shakespeare Producers (Rooftop Theatre)
Paul Levy – Best Publisher
Tactful Cactus – Best Short Film (for Starcrossed)
Alison Wright – Best PR – Arts
Stuart Price – Best Creative – Director & Writer
Laura Pitt-Pulford – Best Performer – Musical (for Parade at Southwark Playhouse)
Alexander Parsonage – Best Artistic Director (Finger In The Pie)
Andy McQuade – Best Director – Theatre
Catherine Brogan – Best Poet

Social Fabric Exhibition

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Social Fabric Exhibition: 19 January–10 March 2012

 

Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts) presents Social Fabric exhibition at Rivington Place, in which textiles are used to explore colonial history, international trade, labour and militant politics. In the 19th Century Karl Marx’s account of the cotton industry tracked fifty years of boom and bust and the effects this had on workers in Britain and its colonies (and in particular India). Social Fabric cross references different accounts of textile history, focusing on works by two contemporary artists Sudhir Patwardhan and Alice Creischer, presented alongside extensive range of recent and historical archival material.

 

Alice Creischer’s installation Apparatus for the Osmotic Compensation of the Pressure of Wealth during the Contemplation of Poverty tracks the threads that connect cycles of investment, disinvestment and decline. Inspired by a trip to India, the work looks at the economic and social impact of European colonialism and subsequent globalisation. The craze for Indian Chintz caused protest amongst Spitalfields weavers in 1719 and devastated whole sections of its textile industry. This led to Gandhi’s choice of the spinning wheel as a symbol of decolonisation, and caused Nehru to comment that – ‘the history of cotton and textiles is not only the history of growth of modern industry in India, but in a sense it might be considered the history of India.’

 

Since the mid-1970s, Sudhir Patwardhan has depicted Mumbai and its urban proletariat. His painting Lower Parel (2001) shows ‘Girangaon’ (mill village) the place where the cotton mills that transformed the city’s economy and led to the Indian industrial revolution were located. By the 1970s textiles employed one in three of the city’s workers and sucked in migrants from surrounding regions. New social institutions evolved with forms of cultural expression including street theatre, poetry and music and it was a hub for trade union activity and left politics. This painting depicts the area after the mills closed down in the early 80s, superimposing different urban strata – the defunct factories, new small scale enterprises and high rise luxury apartments, invoking the workers’ struggle to keep the mills going and resist gentrification.

 

These two complex works are examined through an extensive display of archival loans and artist interventions, including Company Paintings, Indian Chintz, original journals from Marx, films, photographs, newspaper articles and recordings of mill workers’ testimonies. A curtain and two support structures, a table and wall unit, have been designed by artist Celine Condorelli to display the archival material.

 

There will also be an extended programme of talks and events running alongside, including a symposium on textiles; and workshops with activist and writer Meena Menon. Social Fabric is curated by Grant Watson, in collaboration with Christine Checinska, Nida Ghouse, Shanay Jhaveri, Nada Raza and Karen Roswell.

 

Social Fabric will tour to Londs Konsthall from 6 April until 27 May.

 

Dates: 19 January – 10 March 2012

Venue: Rivington Place, London, EC2A 3BA

Rivington Place public opening hours:

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 11am – 6pm

Late Thursdays: 11am – 9pm (last admission 8.30pm)

Saturday: 12noon – 6pm

Admission: free

 

www.rivingtonplace.org

 

Tubes: Old Street/Liverpool Street/Shoreditch High St

Rivington Place is fully accessible, for parking & wheelchair facilities call +44 (0)20 7749 1240

 

A Tribute to Adonis

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First U.K solo exhibition of art works by great Syrian poet

3 February – 30 March 2012                                                          

The Mosaic Rooms, 226 Cromwell Road, London, SW5 0SW

 

‘His vision is extraordinary. His poetry sublime… He is for me a master of our times’ V.S. Naipaul

 

The Mosaic Rooms is delighted to announce for 2012 a tribute to the Arab world’s greatest living poet, Adonis. From February to March 2012, the Mosaic Rooms will host an exhibition of Adonis’ exquisite drawings alongside a series of literary events celebrating his life, poetry and criticism. This is the first solo exhibition of Adonis’ artwork in the United Kingdom.

 

Adonis, who is now in his eighties, has been painting and creating works of art for the past 12 years. His pictorial pieces are beautiful collages, made up of rags, yarn, fabric, documents, ancient papyri, used cans, and other found objects that have inspired him. By unifying these materials which belong to different cultures, Adonis aims to give sense to objects that have previously had no significance.

 

Each collage has a background of Arabic writing, not only used because it is Adonis’ native language, but also because he considers the language to have an exceptional graphic quality. Through his art work Adonis demonstrates the beauty of the Arabic language, both in its musicality and also in its literal written form. ‘The written word’, he says, ‘is a picture in itself’.

 

The Italian artist Marco Nereo Rotelli has previously described Adonis’ artworks as being ‘like a short story told in an instant.’ Adonis himself considers the pieces to be an extension of his poetry, defining his art work as poems but in a different form.

 

Winner of the 2011 Goethe Prize and a favourite for last year’s Nobel Prize for Literature, Adonis is recognised as the man who led the modernist movement in the Arabic literary scene in the past 50 years and brought Arabic poetry the international recognition it deserved. He is also famous for his critical views on Arab culture, politics and current affairs and even today, at 81years of age, he retains his fresh and critical outlook on the events in his homeland, attracting controversy and debate because of his cautionary and critical worlds on the Arab Spring.

ADONIS: A BIOGRAPHY

 

Adonis was born Ali Ahmad Said Esber near the city of Latakia, western Syria, in 1930. He had no formal education for most of his childhood, learning the Quran at the local mosque school and memorising classical Arabic poetry, to which he was introduced by his father. His formal education began after he impressed the then President of Syria as a teenager by reciting one of his poems. He was given a scholarship to a French lycée and went on to study philosophy at Damascus University.

 

In 1956, he was forced to leave Syria after being imprisoned following his involvement with the Syrian National Socialist Party. He moved to Beirut, Lebanon, and, together with Yusuf al-Khal, set up the legendary Shi’r (Poetry) magazine, one of the Arab world’s most influential literary journals. Adonis then studied in Paris before returning to Beirut and taking up a post teaching Arabic Literature. In 1982, he and his family relocated to Paris as a result of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and they have remained there until this day.

 

Adonis’ work includes over 50 books of poetry, criticism and translation in his native Arabic. His multi-volume anthology of Arabic poetry (Diwan al-shi’r al-‘arabi) covers almost two millennia of verse. He has also translated a number of works into Arabic, including the first complete Arabic translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (2002). He has won several awards, including the Goethe Prize in 2011, and has been shortlisted for the Nobel Prize for Literature a number of times.

 

January's Magazines: Lady Gaga and Gwen Stefani Cover Stars.

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Lady Gaga takes the cover of Vanity Fair. She tells Vanity Fair: ‘I can’t commit to being an adult- I’m not ready.’

One of the main reasons I subscribe to Vanity Fair is the intelligent articles. I get my monthly dose of politics and economics. This month is no exception, there are brilliant articles to help you understand the economical crisis and a brilliant article on George F. Kennedy.

I really enjoyed Henry Aldord’s article on manners. It’s a sample from his book, Would it kill you to stop doing that?

  • Vanity Fair take Celine Dion out to lunch and she tells them she has over 3000 pair of shoes.
  • There is a brilliant article on Rick Perry, can he comeback?
  • Salman Rushdie on Lewis Carroll’s struggle to write his second book. ‘Follow that syndrome’ and how it helped him. Great piece.
  • The Japanese workers cleaning up Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
  • Rebecca Eaton, who has put her stamp on Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs amongst others.
  • Michael Ovitz and his (alleged) failed takeover of IMG from the late Teddy Forstmann.
  • The wonderful Christopher Hitchens debates whether the phrase ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ has merit.
  • The Queen and Prince Phillip in love. 16 pages on the blossoming of their love.
  • And P.D. James answers the Proust Questionnaire.

Marie Claire has Kelly Rowland on the cover. She talks Beyonce, men, music and admits she has cellulite.

There is a lot of clothes and shoes that will help you plan your wardrobe for next year, and lots of sparkly stuff for Christmas.

There is also a 2011 in review. Most magazines do this in December, watch out for Frosts.

  • Why famous men cheat, and does it sound like your man? Good article, and Lizzie Cundy tells Marie Claire how it felt when her husband cheated on her. Forgive and forget?
  • Four style savvy women share the party prepping secrets.
  • Janine di Giovanni goes in search of the truth about Aisha Gaddafi.
  • Should you tell your boss if your pregnant?
  • Matt Smith interview.
  • Who finds you the perfect date?
  • Jean Shrimpton’s Life story.
  • Amy Manson on the things she loves.
  • Future proof your looks.
  • Dakota Fanning’s beauty rules.
  • There is a very informative article on hormone problems, their symptoms and treatments.

Florence Welch take the cover of British Vogue and is interviewed inside. She tells Vogue: ‘I don’t think I’ll ever be polished. I’m integrally slightly scruffy. You know, you meet those women who are so cool? I’m striving for that so much!”.

  • In Vogue’s scrapbook there is a guide to flowers and their seasons and lots of floral dresses.
  • Sarah Lund from The Killing is interviews and asked about THAT jumper.
  • Women under siege, stories from women in Libya.
  • The new generation of female drummers.
  • Designing Duos.
  • Michael Kors
  • The Frieze Art; pictures and interviews from the art world’s fashion week.
  • Nomi Rapace interview.
  • Steven Spielberg and the cast for Warhorse.
  • Vogue’s great escapes. A brief history of Vogue shoots in foreign countries.
  • Three beauty hotshots show you how to par-down your make up bag.
  • Fast track your workout.

 

Glamour has X Factor’s Tulisa on the cover. She says ‘I don’t think I am anything like Cheryl, except we can both put a bit of volume in our hair’. She also says that she likes to ‘stick up for other women’. Which makes Frost like her. A lot.

  • Dermont O’Leary interview.
  • Don’t fear your fashion ghosts.
  • Get your dream job in 2012.
  • How to get blogged about.
  • The truth about food intolerance.
  • 3 Health problems you can fix yourself.
  • Can dating pro Matthew Hussey find you a man?
  • Tamara and Petra Ecclestone.
  • There is a good article on the rise of those awful pay day loan companies, beware of them at all costs!
  • Hollywood female stereotypes, a funny article by Mindy Kaling, writer of the US Office.
  • The truth about Hollywood stars selling their bodies when times get tough.
  • Give your closet a January detox with Danni Minogue.
  • Nicki Minaj interview and photo shoot.
  • How to get your s**t together. Sort out your wardrobe, make up bag, and everything else in your life.
  • Josh Duhamel interview.
  • The stars of 2012.
  • Your everything guide to skin.
  • Nicole Scherzinger on health and beauty.
  • The Devil in your diet: The low-down on sugar. Did you know that sugar has 4kcal per gram? There is also no difference between brown and white sugar.
  • 12 dinners for £50.

Tatler has Florence Brudenell-Bruce is on the cover. The girl that got away, Prince Harry’s ex tells Tatler that ‘one day everything will drop and I won’t be able to earn a living in my bikini’.

 

  • Free travel guide.
  • Rigby and Peller give Tatler their Mood Board.
  • What the recent overhaul of the royal succession means for the aristocracy.
  • Santa Sebag Montefiore launches a new skiing clothes line.
  • The Posh Commune.
  • Ella Hughes goes to an orgy.

  • Charles Gilkes and Duncan Stirling launch yet another party venue.
  • Quentin Letts sketchbook: Yvette Cooper.
  • Russian Billionaires at the High Court. Abramovich and Berezovsky go head to head.
  • Emma Freud reviews toasters.
  • Dafydd Jones on 30 years of chronicling the art crowd.
  • Writers on manners.
  • Joanne Lumley on her beauty routine.
  • Jo Malone on what she loves.

Gwen Stefani is on the cover of Instyle and is interviewed. Did you know she is friends with Angelina Jolie?

  • Where style starts: statement earrings.
  • Josephine de la Baume on her style.
  • Actors at the Toronto Film Festival.
  • Fashion insiders reveal what they cannot live without.
  • Tom Ford and Kate Bosworth. Tom has just launched a new make up range and Kate models
  • Instyle Shopping rules; jeans, vintage, lingerie, jewellery.
  • Instyle meets Jenna Lyons from J Crew.
  • Beyonce’s body rules.
  • Christmas Prep.
  • Megan Fox Up Close. Her beauty secrets.
  • Gizzi Erskine is In Style’s new columnist.

Polaroid – The Iconic Brand is Back

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Polaroid has launched its first UK website

Polaroid has launched a brand new UK website for the first time since the brand was revitalised in 2010, showcasing its range of new and innovative products at www.polaroid.co.uk

The website launch coincides with the launch of the Polaroid Z340 instant digital camera, which is has just gone on sale and delivers a new twist on the instant photo. The Polaroid Z340 instant digital camera marries the convenience of a digital camera with the classic Polaroid instant printing experience.

Loved by many worldwide for its creativity and innovation, the Polaroid brand constantly strives to push artistic boundaries; creating new products which combine the old with the new.
The website enables Polaroid fans based in the UK to keep up to date with the latest news, browse the array of products, download fantastic Polaroid apps and even buy products online including the much sought after Lady Gaga GREY Label range.

In just two clicks you can purchase limited Polaroid products, from the latest cameras and printers to tripods, filters and flashes.

Graeme Chapman, Managing Director for the Polaroid Licence in Europe commented: “We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Polaroid website designed specifically for the UK. The website is an outlet for old and new fans of the original instant camera brand, and Polaroid.co.uk reaffirms that the iconic brand is very much back.”

Violence and Claymation at Camden Arts Centre

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Clay animation, or claymation as it is commonly referred to, for me instinctively conjures images of Wallace and Gromit. Cuddly, quirky characters whose comedic traits are enhanced by the clunky childlike style inherent to the medium they work in. It is probably rather ignorant going straight for such a mainstream example, but I doubt I’m the only one.

I was nevertheless equally ignorant as I was lured towards the Camden Arts Centre by the mesmerising images from Nathalie Djubery’s exhibition A World Of Glass. For starters I assumed it would be in Camden. It is not and I still don’t know why it has given its self such a misleading title. It is actually a little unassuming building plonked by Finchley road tube station. Secondly, there was much more to the exhibition than the misshapen glass like objects that I found so pretty.

After poking around the gift shop on the way in-it’s so nice when museums do that, so you don’t feel less cultured for wanting to look around the gift shop first; not that I’d need to, I’d already overcome the intelligence hurdle of finding a museum pretending to be somewhere it wasn’t- I ventured toward the first exhibition room.

A soundscape of tinkling glass and percussion filled the room and encouraged a pensive, quiet atmosphere. This was not an exhibition where you chatted about what you though of the work whilst you were there and tried to sound pretentious, you experienced it. You also experienced it standing up, so after a few moments I began to wander.

The promotion pictures really did do the exhibit justice. In a darkened room, tables of illuminated glass like objects looked surreal and made me feel less silly for wanting to see them simply for their strangely beautiful aesthetic. It quickly transpired that they were part of the set taken from the claymation films that were playing at either end of the studio; designed to make the whole exhibition feel modestly immersive.

At first glance Natalie Djurbery’s short clay animated films seem to portray the inherent playfulness I imagined (the first image I saw was of a bull tottering around a shop full of glass), but you don’t have to watch for long before realising that the artist is merely playing upon our natural assumptions about the medium to convey her real message.

As the museum suggests, Djurbery’s films resemble folk or fairytales, but without any moral judgement. They do, however, use this genre to explore dark and crude themes of suffering, depression and violence using humans and animals. The content of each of the stories was shocking and, at times, bizarre enough; but their combination with the tranquil dim environment transformed any gut reaction into something more pensive. The effect was strangely jarring and definitely uncomfortable, as though I was somehow complicit in the twisted taboos shown on the screen.

The work I feel was important to see. It broke and built barriers between person, screen, self, other, human and animal. It showed the possibilities of claymation as a serious artform; its crudeness effectively conveyed the animalistic forces that drove the characters and its childlike nature added a level of philosophical thought to Djurberg’s portrayal of the human condition.

To summarise, I did not completely enjoy it, I’m glad I didn’t and I don’t think I was supposed to.