breathingin

Time to breath in – in between meetings - some galleries in London. Anne Imhof has a gloriously cold installation throughout all 4 floors at Spruce Magers, specially loved the scratched glass panels. Veronica Ryan's thoughtful assemblies at Alison Jacques got me thinking about the cultural appropriation of materials. What is it to work with the idea of otherness in found materials? Pi works has by Fabio Lattanzi Antinori commenting on the unicorn business world of hyper capitalism using the media utilized by the very systems commented on. David Altmejd at white cube has created a gloriously nightmarish cast of characters who look as if created through physically photoshopping material. Cecilia Vicuna's installation at Tate Modern is a little like a tatty version of a school Halloween display who have been working on the theme of dream catchers. At least I got out of the rain and got to see Grass Breathing by Ana Mendirta. Whitechapel gallery has a mini archive show of live art in London Institutions - I loved a video by Louis Keidan of LADA talking - "we don't publish for money we publish for history".  "Thatcher's version of society didn't include anybody who was interesting. There is a great photo of La Ribot with a chair from a performance that has pride of place on a wall in our house! The work of Zadie Xa straddles the worlds of fashion and installation. Nevins Mahmoud's practice of recreating kids’ plastic toys in stone is an interesting one and as ever the work at Soft Opening looks hyper professional. There is great project at the museum of the home by Kadir Kara baba called One Song. Women born in another country but who live in London singing a song that reminds them of home. The videos have them waiting and then singing, sometimes simultaneously, sometimes on their own. The Korean Centre has a mixed show - the work by Ya Wen Fu that sets out to destroy itself sets up an interesting dialogue that is continued in the dance/performance piece. Onto screens - Armageddon Time was sweet but slightly underwhelming. Black Adam had lots of special effects, lots.

lisbonandmagic

Whenever I’m in Lisbon I head for the Gulbenkian and this painting - Les Bretonnes au Pardon by Dagnan Bouveret. There is something about the crisply folded starched headdresses and the women’s faces looking out from the past. I have always wondered what was on the spire and I have just found out that it was festive flags. Check it out here. One can’t help but be blown away by the tiles on the buildings whilst waking between churches and art galleries, eating various versions of salted cod. Saturday night went to see The Making of Pinocchio by Cade and MacAskill was extraordinary https://www.artsadmin.co.uk/project/the-making-of-pinocchio/ highly recommended – a fabulous story told with great props and sets.

latestbookandsmorefilms

The latest book, pattern magic, is going to be in a show in the Upright Gallery in Edinburgh. It was developed from imagery and ideas I encountered whilst working within a scientific context, as an artist in residence at Nano Doctoral center in Cambridge. The shapes were derived through the study of Penrose tessellation whilst exploring crystallography. I Laser cut the shapes of the spaces and used them as a masking device to create the spray-painted pages. The structure enables multiple juxtapositions, creating a playful experience as the pages are turned. Onto screens - Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure – a truly disturbing experience with a truly vibrant soundtrack. After this and The Square I can’t wait to watch Triangle of Sadness. After finishing The Patient – a truly frightening set up with a truly bizarre script. Steve Carell is wondrously disturbing, and I was lost at the nihilism of the outcome. And then there was The System – good man, prison drama, corruption etc, On The Line – a radio show call in – with a twist or two maybe!

dualityforces

The latest versions of work around pharmacology looks at duality - each element affecting each other but there is an outside force that generates the starting energy. Meanwhile – screens – Don’t worry Darling – a darkly chilling incel nightmare. Season 2 of Industry continues the process of revealing that the public are just the very, very thin crust of the worlds true engagement with money. 

dualityofwork

The folding has taken a new twist – focusing on duality and creating several pieces that make interesting noises whilst being articulated. There has been a lot of ‘art looking’ this year - rethinking some of the work I saw at Venice Biennale and Documenta15 after reviewing photographs last night.  Onto music - I saw Loula Yorke playing some extraordinary electronics to a lovely crowd in what was a thoughtful evening at Spill Think Tank. Onto screens – Three Thousand years of Solitude was slow, which really didn’t change but when buying into it enabled the mind to flow with ideas and a rich conversation ensued. The Resort was a well written and clever series, although the last episode felt rushed and if you watch it, you will never go down a small hole underground, whatever the reason.

thenewbitterness

In 2007 I was sitting in a bar in Venice after a tough day spent looking at art in The Biennale! All-around us local drinkers had this intriguing orange drink I had seen 2 years previously, after asking I was introduced to Aperol and continued to drink it until I moved onto Campari and fell in love with its robust bitterness rather than a syrupy sweetness. I am now, thanks to Loick @pre_phylloxera on a journey with Cynar, apparently the next/new/latest thing, its herby bitterness is like Suze or Campari had a child but the herbyness is strong. The weekend saw a great walk from the Thames Barrier to Greenwich – which includes nice/odd pubs, post-industrial, hyper tourist, lost and found spaces. Seeing the dome and the millennium sculptural commissions close-up was interesting and a document of the so-called big ideas involving pomp and government. But they are obvious landmarks, along the walk intimate riverside beach spaces connecting to the river and carved out by individuals told more interesting human narratives. Managed to get into the west end to check out a few shows – Nancy Spiro’s delicate drawings at Frith Street, Marian Goodman projects had some bold, dark, narrative objects. Window shopping in soho got me obsessed with knitwear from wood wood and trainers by Salomon. Meanwhile onto screens - I am not the easiest man – nice idea but with a twist. Mr Harrigan’s phone book – nice idea but not fully exploited. Inside Man – nice idea made nicer with the addition of Stanley Tucci. Bad Sisters – what a tragic ending, but we all knew it was going there….

foldfoldedfold

Working on the latest iteration of folded structures that explore the processes around receptor pharmacology. Thinking about the physical possibilities of working with affordance forces, multiple connections, and cause and effect. How to make the structure out of a single sheet of material, eventually creating a template that could be emailed. Meanwhile screens – Five days at Memorial is a relentless story of misguided misery. Words on Bathroom walls is a relentless story of mental health. Funny Pages is a relentless tale of the oddness of the teenage search for independence. Stay the night is a relentless tale of opposites attract and has a beautifully scripted conversation in a bar about burgers that is not about burgers.