Doing the London thing 2
Day two saw a brighter day and a full itinerary of galleries in London including the Serpentine where Pierre Huyghe UUmwelt (just closed 10th February) was an intriguing combination of LED screens, reproducing images that are constantly evolving by use of technology and sensors, even the activity of the live flies contributed to the mutation of the original images. At first I did not really grasp what was before my eyes, the very art is evolving and simultaneously you are inclusive, part of the art by the viewing of it.
You can see the flies on the picture and the floor, they were quite sedate in the darkened cool rooms, I could appreciate that some viewers would have refused the experience, because of the presence of flies, it would have been a shame to miss this technological, integrating, and adaptive work.
How long it takes for these concepts to be realised and then put into the the public art space, must take years of planning and much head scratching as an idea develops into work as complex as this. This link with technology is often quite overwhelmingly impressive and yet makes me curious about the creation and where it goes next as technology improves.
For the afternoon itinerary, whilst other students went to either the V&A (Victoria and Albert) Museum or Natural History Museum, I took the opportunity to visit the nearby Michael Hoppen Gallery Jubilee Place, Chelsea to see photographic works in the exhibition "America". A quite modern look in this well presented old building where much of the original features are retained, like the staircase with dark wood bannister and a gentle creek as I climbed them, between walls that were lined with many posters, art work and a huge clock, to access the upper floor gallery where the display was of a sporting theme, horse racing and Cassius Clay ii boxing images by Gerry Cranham, displayed in series on a single row around the room that was also home to a vast array of photography books in several bookcases. Although an art dealing gallery, this was a very insightful visit and would be an excellent place for the study and research of many photographers for London area academics.
I chose not to take photographs of the work on display out of respect for the establishment.
A give away from the gallery was a paper printed Po River by Sohei Nishino , wrapped in a cellophane sleeve publication. The artist has made a photographic diorama/montage/collage of the river Po and the landmarks that line its banks, reconstructing them into an 8 panel vision of the Po River, from hundreds of individual images. Sohei Nishino drawing inspiration from the 18th century Japanese mapmaker, Ino Tadataka, Sohei Nishino synthesises skills from cartography, photography and psychogeography (the effect of locations on individuals emotions and behaviour) to create his large works from walks that can take 3 months, he then hand exposes and prints the images he has selected from the many rolls of film. After reading about how this artist works I feel quite privileged to have even a mass produced copy of the award winning Po River.
A steady stroll back through the streets of Chelsea in plenty of time for a nice cup of tea in the Natural History Museum cafe, before heading back to the Royal National Hotel to have a well deserved hot bath before eating a meal and relaxing in preparation for day 3...
Watch this space for the next installation of #DoingTheLondonThing ....