juxtaposingfixings

Giulio Paolini’s show at The Whitechapel Gallery To Be or Not to Be is a body of quizzical, clever work that repeatedly refers to itself within each artwork as well as outside to the 'tradition' of looking and referencing. Clever in that the viewer is constantly deconstructing and decoding visual game play (artist as master thief or serial killer leaving clues to be unpicked and solved by downtrodden detectives) one feels as if a spectator in a temporal game whose rules are in flux.
I last saw the work of Kader Attia at Tate Modern - it was a powerful dual slide show juxtaposing images of WW1 soldiers facial reconstruction with images from an archive of everyday items that had also had their lives extended by ingenious fixing(s). The show at the Whitechapel continues this theme with disfigured marble busts of soldiers next to repaired Arabic leaning boards. Within the building there is a lot to see if you throw in a series of films shown in the Zilkha Auditorium, the socially engaging work by Stephen Willats, Francis Upritchard's Zabludowicz collection Project where he has worked with Brazilian rubber to create a series of intriguing animals and the selection of sculptural pieces by Mike Nelson from the V-A-C collection. But I'm waiting for the Richard Tuttle show which coincides with the Tate Turbine Hall Commission that I saw being built the other day - it is very large and I think could be a winner.

Its the Chinese moon festival – yes the moon has been quite incredible over the past week – so a trip to China Town to buy moon cake in celebration.

lookingthinkingandmorelooking

spent a day last week working at NUA on the PAL scheme. Peer Assisted Learning - a wonderful project that aims to enable the outgoing year one students the possibility to formally support the new year one students arriving in September and generally the scheme engages with the good in people. It was a room full really positive individuals who have volunteered to give of their time and share their experiences of being a first year. I was brought in to chair(ish) the day and run ice-breaker-type workshops between sessions and to generally deconstruct the idea of being a PAL, giving the students tools to own the idea. Fun and worthwhile - whats not to like?
Today has been a day in London with MA Book Arts students visiting two shows to look at the meaning of display and the context of the gallery as a site for work. The Whitechapel Gallery had several exhibitions within the venue and we explored a range of subjects including – Hanging and Display - how it informs and directs our understanding of the artworks. Everyday objects as visual metaphor – how the character and qualities of objects can be used to explore or represent ideas. Practice as Process as Outcome – when does one become the other? If and when Design becomes Art. The idea of the Design Classic. Collection and curation as art practice. Recognising book-like qualities within display.  Defining the role of the embalmer/educator as practice. After a swift walk and lunch it was Whitecube at Bermondsey - it really is a stunning building and I never cease to marvel at its excessiveness - we had some interesting discussions around the role of texts within a gallery and its relationship to the work. (Whether they have been written by the curator or artist). 

Meanwhile two new examples of smoking architecture.