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The Whitechapel Gallery speaks Italian this autumn, indeed two whole galleries are now dedicated to the works of Giuseppe Penone and Maurizio Cattelan.

The room set up by Giuseppe Penone on the invitation of the Bloomberg Commission is dominated by his new creation called “Spazio di Luce”: Penone covered a giant twelve-meter tall tree with a thin wax layer to cast a mould used to print its rough and woody surface. The giant replica looks like a golden wood tunnel, indeed the gleaming gold coat inside and the dark handprints on the outer surface alludes to the primordial feeling between humanity and nature. Throughout his career Penone has tried to bring humanity back to its origin to rediscover the importance of this return to the earth. Penone was part of the group called “Arte Povera”, which fought the mainstream vision that tell us that an artist needs to study at an academy to be called one; instead art should be learnt in the street, by collaboration and sharing inspiration with other artists.

The Whitechapel gallery is hosting, for the first time in UK, the “Sandretto Re Rabaudengo” collection by Maurizio Cattelan, one of the most respected Italian artists outside Italy. We can see the provocative and melancholic vision of the human condition in his earlier work “Bidibibodibiboo”, which shows a suicidal squirrel embalmed, sitting on a miniature reproduction of his family kitchen. As you can maybe understand by the title, this was the product of a weird hallucinated vision of Disney’s Cinderella that he heard from his grandmother. Cattelan’s works are often very critical of a distorted idyllic vision that Italians can have about their country, indeed he often satirises politicians and industrialists; creating silly puppets caricatures of them or publishing fake election ads in the Italian newspapers.

The last exhibition but not the least on show at the Whitechapel Gallery is a film screening; “Give to me the life I love”, by Mat Stokes. The artist has delved into the large Bangladeshi community in East London in order to realise this short. The film is a mirrored story that shows in the same split screen episodes from the life of both the young and the old Iqbal, a member of this community. The artist’s purpose is to demonstrate the difficulties the Bangladeshi community face in integrating both in the past and today. Presented alongside the film is a collection of Bengali books spanning 38 years, that seems to turn the gallery into a library.

All the exhibitions are still open for free at the Whitechapel gallery, get your act together and go visit it!

http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/

Photography by Martina Saladino.

Written by Andrea Vessichelli

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Last week, the best international design brands came to London to exhibit their creations at Design Junction for the London Design Festival in central London. Located at New Oxford Street near Tottenham Court Road tube station, the exhibition took place at a three-floor abandoned industrial building called Sorting Office, which is six times bigger than the space where the last edition was hosted.

Bright-coloured spiral slides as well as the packaging unit of Royal Mail are the remarkable architectural features of the building because they add to the outstanding 60s aesthetics. Being exhibited at Design Junction was a flowing mix of vintage-styled and new designs, including from original wrap-around wood seats to plastic accessories for new electronic devices.  

This design expo was a great opportunity for cutting-edge labels and pop-up design stores of smaller scale, because it gave a much more open space to the exhibitors. It was an interactive and educational experience with impressive content-led entertainment.

http://thedesignjunction.co.uk/

Photography by Martina Saladino

Written by Andrea Vessichelli

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The Last Tuesday Society, 11 Mare Street, Hackney, is a disturbed and strange collection of freakishly curated erotic artifacts and the odd stuffed kitten. Crypt-like, the basement is a treasure trove of secrets and the inner workings of quite an unusual mind, don’t take my word for it, the Mermaid in the window told me so.

  Quite a unique opportunity has recently arisen, enticing those of you lost forever to the sanctuary of suburban living to convert your domestic interiors to something a little more anarchic – a devil deer perhaps? Making a foray into domestic refurbishment? Look no further than the relics stuffed inside the Society’s walls in underground Hackney.

  Viktor Wynd, Chancellor of The Last Tuesday Society, has decided to sell some items from his extensive private holdings of Tribal Art.  This collection of Ethnographic Art has been carefully procured from The Congo and Indonesia. A Congolese friend of his, was said to have made ‘several dangerous, but fruitful, trips to the interior of the mysterious lost heart of the continent.’ Mr.Wynd's love of the Macabre, The Gothic & The Dead has inspired his huge collection of human remains, from 19th century head-hunting tribes of Indonesia. From their previous resting place in the ‘cupboard under the stairs,’ he has decided to release these enigmatic ‘trophies’ into general consumption, believing that ‘no domestic interior is complete without at least one human skull.’

  Further unique objects include five framed and labeled Syringes used by Sebastian Horsley, the quintessential dandy, to inject heroin, available for sale at £350 each.

Described as a Wunderkabinett under the stairs, The Last Tuesday Society is a realm of otherworldliness and a shrine to Metropolitan decadence.

The shop is open Saturdays only. But keep an eye out for their debauched Balls, where dressing up and dance lessons are a contingency.

http://www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org/

Written by Hannah-Clare Gordon

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Rooftop Film Club

Five nights a week, you can snuggle up to the very best of cult , classic and recently released films, on the rooftop of Queen of Hoxton, Shoreditch.

Armed with a blanket, your ‘neighbour-respecting’ headphones and a lap full of popcorn, movies on the roof is a pretty good way to spend an evening.

Food and drinks are available to buy, and tickets for the Roof Gardens include a snack of fish and chips, hot dog or hamburger.

There’s a great vibe with everyone enjoying a communal camp out beneath the stars and appreciating a well curated program of films.

You know that scene in The Big Lebowski where The Dude flies across the city? Well now imagine him soaring above the Shoreditch skyline; the wind is blowing in his hair whilst the night time breeze is ruffling yours. You know how you salivate watching him light up a stogie… Well, drugs might not be allowed but by all means puff away on the legal stuff. See what we mean – its an unparalleled and immersive viewing experience!

Some classics including; The Life of Brian and American Beauty will be screened in October, and they haven’t sold out yet – so hop to it! 

http://www.rooftopfilmclub.com/

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“Seven Designer for Seven Dials” is an open air exhibition showed on the seven famous streets of London, Covent Garden, during the London Design Festival. This aerial installation made by several young designers will last until 5th October. The artists who are getting involved by the project, promoted by Deezen magazine, are Faye Toogood, Paul Cocksedge, Vic Lee, Gitta Gschwendtner, Aberrant Architecture, Dominic Wilcox and Philippe Malouin. 

http://www.dezeen.com/2012/08/31/seven-designers-for-seven-dials/

Photography by Martina Saladino.

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If you find yourself in Oxford Street try not to miss the window installation by Yayoi Kusama at Selfridges. The japanese artist made it in collaboration with Louis Vuitton for London Fashion Week. 

Photography by Martina Saladino.

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Dulwich, thirty minutes by train from London Bridge station, is a quiet neighborhood in London, surrounded by nature. The Dulwich Picture Gallery, in terms of its architecture and gardens is a stand-alone attraction. It is adorned with large sculptures; reproductions of Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s work, one of the most innovative Italian artists of the 16th century. These pieces recreate human faces through the use of vegetables and fruits, and have been recreated on a huge scale.

Andy Warhol’s exhibition was thrilling; right from your entrance into the first room “A man from Nowhere.” The curation of this room presented a collection of the artist’s earlier projects and screen-printing including; the Campbell's Soup Can print, the Marilyn Monroe silkscreen, and the ten colorful hibiscus drawings. These prints define the origins of Pop Art. As an artist Warhol decided to insult good taste, not gratify it and his work stood as a criticism of popular mass-culture. With a background in advertising, Warhol began as a creative in the commercial industry who moved on to focus on creating statements through fine art.

Gallery II was dedicated to the stars portraits, like Mohammed Ali. Andy Warhol was fascinated and obsessed by rich and famous figures surrounding himself with the most influencial artists of the period; The Velvet Underground, Truman Capote and Liza Minelli. In these works we see Warhol’s initial use of the collage technique.

In the gardens a series of dance pieces were performed. Inspired by the Rambert piece, Rainforest (which originally incorporated Andy Warhol’s Silver Mylar Pillows), as well as paintings from the Andy Warhol exhibition, The Movement Factory Dancers (members of the dance troupe Bruk Out) have worked with Rambert animateurs and performed a stunning dance spectacle for the audience. It was performed to “Andy Warhol”, the famous hit that David Bowie had dedicated to his friend.

http://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/

Written by Andrea Vessichelli

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Bearspace Gallery, Deptford ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW: Exhibition C Bearspace is a small but impressive space situated within the fish mongers, markets and madness of Deptford High Street. Having been an established part of the community for 5 years, Bearspace have presented an array of increasingly impressive exhibitions. ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW is a four part exhibition series taking its name from a 1959 film-noir movie, and curated by Julia Alvarez and Katherine Hawker. Each collection of the series features six up-and-coming artists, organized into “gangs” in accordance to thematic trends. So if you’ve never thought about philosophical and experimental artists acting out a Raymond Chandler novel, it could appear something like this. I visited Exhibition C, the third instalment of the series, to see the latest puzzle piece. The collection is accomplished, ideologically fresh and impressive both visually and contextually. The first part of the exhibition to catch my eye was the typography work of Liz Collini on the outer window of the gallery, which is repeated inside. Like a literary fragment of history processed through geometry and annotation, it’s quite affecting to the viewer upon entrance. Exhibition C focuses on the borders between ‘real’ and ‘imagined’ cities, exploring the possibilities for utopia and dystopia within the individual (and perhaps collective) imagination. The walls of the space are a blend of photography, deceptive canvas paintings and sculpture that often contrasts a gritty monochrome urban vision with the imaginative vibrancy of nature. The vision seems to be both sides of the coin existing in tandem, and how these aspects are experienced is very much down to the perception and outlook of the individual. This seems best typified by the work of Susan Eyre, whose work is visually the most multi-dimensional on display here. Sophie Hoyle’s minimalist sculpture that dominates the centre floor of the gallery could, from a certain disposition, said to be in contrast to this. However, rubble and disintegration in this exhibition are used as the building blocks of thought and home, made out of the city’s literal history. On the exhibition blog (link below) you can read about the interest many of these artists have in incorporating anonymous voices of the city into their work. The joy of Bearspace is something close to this: a commercial space that dares to give a platform to unheard voices. I eagerly await Exhibit D in October. ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW: Exhibition C is at Bearspace during 18 August - 15 September, and is free to visit. Bearspace Gallery is open Wednesday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm. 152 Deptford High Street, London, SE8 3PQ http://www.bearspace.co.uk/ http://oddsagainsttomorrow.tumblr.com/

Written by Robert Greer

Photographs by Joshua Eiffel

Robert Greer is a London based writer. He is part of the editorial team for You Stumble Into A Room Full of Poets, he is also a freelance writer specializing in Arts and Culture content.

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Seb Lee-Delisle opened the Brighton Digital Festival with an explosive digital light installation PixelPyros. The digital fireworks display was projected onto a large screen and was lit up by the audience with motion detection sensors. Seb created a simpler version of the display four years ago and developed his concept into this more sophisticated and dynamic showcase of digital coding.

His interest in digital animation began at the age of 11 when he created graphics through coding, long before programmes such as Photoshop allowed users to create images without the knowledge of a tech based language.  From web-design he moved into multi-media programming and now describes his practice as ‘digital art.’

Seb was influenced by the guerrilla style art of Graffiti Research Lab, a collective dedicated to outfitting graffiti artists with open source technologies for urban communication. As well as architectural mapping where digital projections can interact with the surfaces upon which they are drawn. 

As PixelPyros relies in part by audience interactivity, participation is key in the creation of unique digital visuals. Seb states that interactivity is critical to his artistic practice, otherwise he says, the experience is very passive. He appreciates that without user interaction the artwork would not exist. In saying this, audience presence has the power to define and design the installation into a unique visual presentation every time.

Unlike some interactive artworks where the relationship between audience and artist is quite abstract, Seb likes to ensure that audience engagement is seen as having an immediate response. As he makes his animations with code, they exist in real time and on a frame by frame basis. In a sense he attempts to teach the computer to make the art by itself as it relies on immediate responses from constant user and artist input.

Underlining themes of playfulness exist in the very nature of Seb’s work which aims to purely entertain and amaze on both a visual and participatory level. 

For more information visit Seb’s website: http://seb.ly

Written by Hannah-Clare Gordon

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Bold Tendencies

  Bold Tendencies is back with Sculpture Project 6, continuing their annual residence of the top two floors of Peckham Multi-Storey Car Park that began in the summer months of 2007. They share the space on the vast, open-air top floor with Frank’s Campari Bar, a summer only pop-up bar with whom they have worked since their inaugural project. As the sun sets in Peckham, it strikes me that there is no better way to enjoy the work of conceptual sculpture than this. It’s free to visit, and is a fine example of how the conceptual avant-garde can infiltrate a community.

Bold Tendencies exhibits a range of conceptual sculptures and installations, across a number of disciplines. The eclecticism of the collection serves to the benefit of the individual pieces, drawing out the thematic juxtapositions between works.

Bold Tendencies has grown out of the work of the Hannah Barry Gallery - based in Peckham -  and as it has grown, has served to be both a protective hub for the artists, as well as boosting the profile of the prosperous art scene in the area.

For instance, where Sarah Cain explores the limits of painting by transferring abstract expressionism from canvas to installation, Carter Mull’s omnipresent billboard uses graphic design as a symbol of chaotic bombardment and media saturation. Our approach with Cain’s work is to challenge the placement of a pure form, while Mull’s work questions our acceptance of the overt demonstration of symbols and ideas on our landscape, planted by those with ulterior motives.

Sarah Cain shares the lower ground with Mary Redmond, whose work is perhaps the most expansive of all the artists. The contrast from the open air above allows the roof to participate in the scene, and adds a sense of claustrophobia to the mix of post-industrialism and cultural atavism that marks this collection.  Walking through a thicket of bamboo and steel, you get the essence of a concrete jungle.

Elsewhere, Martin Westwood’s thought provoking work nods at a post-industrial landscape, while Laura Buckley and Peles Empire provide further questions to the architecture of the everyday. Bold Tendencies fills a niche in that many of these works are perhaps too sparse to warrant solo exhibit, but too grandiose to feature in the collection of a contemporary gallery space. As well as a great place to hang out, the literal elevation of the space lends stillness and contemplation to the work, looming high above the city.

This year’s Bold Tendencies can be enjoyed for free until 30th September. Bold Tendencies can be found on the top two floors of Peckham Multi-Storey car park between 11 am – 10pm Thursday – Sunday.

10TH FLOOR, PECKHAM MULTI-STORY CARPARK 95A RYE LANE, LONDON SE15 4ST

Written by Robert Greer

Photographs by Joshua Eiffel and Olivia-Rose Inwood

Robert Greer is a London based writer. He is part of the editorial team for You Stumble Into A Room Full of Poets, he is also a freelance writer specializing in Arts and Culture content.

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On Friday 24th of August, Tweet me Up, a digital participation performance led by artist Tracey Moberly was showcased in the Tate’s Tanks. The installation featured digital submissions from different forms of social media. Three screens projected audio-visual works that Tracey had collected including; fashion, photography and film. Featuring work from artists and performers from all over the world, her aim was to amalgamate unique ideas in order to promote cultural exchange and collaboration. With a focus on the freedom of expression, Tracey extended an invitation of participation through Facebook which resulted in her receiving twenty-six hours of material.

The installation instilled in the audience an understanding of a multitude of subcultures and different forms of expression. Submissions were received from Japan to Haiti and in one instance photographs from Uganda were displayed from both the 20th and 21st centuries.

Despite the seemingly disconnected and unassociated works, Tracey manages to maintain a structured narrative by subtly asserting the concept of expressive freedom which underlines the exhibition.

By combining random elements from different realities, the artist aims to promote the theme of democracy and collaboration in art, exploring the connection between subcultures, countercultures and the mainstream. The installation shows how we can use social media to share and exchange art, ideas, but also points of view and differences.

We Are CAN are pleased that one of our members Paula Harrowing’s work was featured in the installation.

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     This summer, Roundhouse presented Camden Beach a pop-up concept with a
difference. The temporary beach provided Londoners with a sun and sand
experience right within the city limits.

150 tonnes of sand, a tiki hut, BBQ and traditional stripy deckchairs
created a vibrant oasis nestled within urban North London. Camden
Beach was perfect for all ages, for who doesn't love to sit back relax
and lick an ice cream whilst burying your toes in the sand!

Now that Camden Beach has come to a close, we just hope that
Roundhouse, a creative hub for young people, are preparing to shovel
in all that sand again next year.

As they have said 'You got 99 problems but the beach aint one.'

Roundhouse offer a year-round schedule of creative projects for 11–25 
year olds in 24 state-of-the-art studios including live music, theatre, dance, circus, installations and new media.

+Roundhouse

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A Place Called Home

An Installation of Work in Progress

Trine Stephensen

"It' s probably not dead, just give it some water and it'll be ok."

The plants and the people are equally dependent on each other. Humans and nature need this contact to survive and thrive. A pot plant connects the past, present and that which is to come. A new home. A place to live. A new beginning.

A Place Called Home

Norwegian born Photographer Trine Stephensen lives and works in London.  Using medium format film, her series draw on personal experiences alongside forms of written or spoken correspondance and existing human relations seen in connection to nature. Her work was recently exhibited in Birmingham and with 'A Place Called Home' the audience is invited to take part in the ongoing process of this new project.

When in the moment of receiving the break-up message from her boyfriend, the first thought of panic that struck was concerning her plants and their prospects, - where would they go now? Two months later, returning to their flat to gather her belongings, the plants were all dead, and the end of their relationship was sealed with her ex handing over one of the lifeless pot plants with the words "It is probably not dead, just give it some water and it will be ok."

This marked the ground for what was later to become 'A Place Called Home', a project exploring the connections between our human relationships, our living spaces, stability and the essence of a home signified in the pot plant. 'A Place Called Home' will this time be installed as a work in progress at The Plantation, for one night only as a vital part of the process towards its finalisation.

Wednesday 22nd of August 6pm

The Plantation Unit 7, Ridley Road Studios 51-63 Ridley Road E8 2NP

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The Iconic Ride in the Age of Decline by XXXora

XXXora’s second solo exhibition The Iconic Ride in the Age of Decline opened Wednesday 8th August at The Brick Lane Gallery.  XXXora’s work explores the relationship between gender and power and the ongoing rise of corporate capitalism.

‘This exhibition enunciates our entering into The Age of Decline with Corporate Capitalism becoming the beast that pulls us towards a future of heightened consumerism and extinction.’

XXXora’s charismatic and seductive personality and her work are closely connected, gleefully dancing on the borders of nationality, sex and gender.

XXXora describes her arrival to the gallery which was indeed an iconic ride;

“To open this exhibition, Brick Lane became a timeline for living organism's that inhabit earth on this one way street, that has a beginning and an end. Female human pony's led a parade of carts from its inception, to the Brick Lane Gallery which is near the end of the street. Capitalism's subordination of women brought us to the exhibition, leaving the short distance to the end of the street as our future. The exhibition then unfolded before our very eyes with the final exhibit being carried to the gallery by the pony's themselves, forming an artwork called The Crash.”

The Iconic Ride in the Age of Decline  is at The Brick Lane Gallery until the 13th of August.

www.thebricklanegallery.com

196 Brick Lane, E1 6SA, East London

www.xxxora.com