Its a strange one this. To my simplistic gallery-goer view its some quite nice artwork on the walls of the corridor on the 6th floor of an office block in Hanover Street. But according to the statements its so much more than that…
..the exhibition aims to draw parallels with our contemporary ability to disregard these values as and when it suits us. Therefore, within the framework of some of the work, ideas of imperialism are incorporated alongside comments on materialism, consumerism, alienation, globalisation and the cult of celebrity.
The exhibition aims to capture a sense of a globalised society at the beginning of the 21st Century. Each one of these artists uses portraiture to make a statement about the environment in which we find ourselves.. etc. etc. etc.
Maybe its somewhere in between. Too good to be hidden away up here but not so grand that it can attract a main gallery space. Having said that, I’d rather see this show on the ground floor of the Tate than the eye-damaging light bulb effort.
I particularly like David Hancock’s ‘I wear Black on the Outside’ which is actually 2 paintings and Dawn Woolley’s ‘9 Henderson Street’ in which she has pasted pictures of herself living in a doll’s house.
Returning to that statement..
Leo Fitzmaurice’s work revolves around his relationship to design and us the consumer. Using the logos on carrier bags and celebrity featured magazines he obscures using felt-tip markers. In doing so Fitzmaurice shows his dissatisfaction with today’s media and commercially obsessed society.
In other words he has scribbled and doodled on a plastic shopping bag.
I’ll be your Mirror 6th Floor of Gostin Buildings, Hanover Street. Monday – Saturday 10.00 17.00
Curated by David Hancock and Richard Meaghan
Jemima Brown & Dolly, Gordon Cheung, Leo Fitzmaurice, David Hancock, Owen Leong, Andy Magee, Rui Matsunaga, Richard Meaghan, Stuart Semple, Hannah Wooll, Isabel Young