Gina Birch - In My Fucking Room
Alternating between anger and ennui — with a healthy dose of Catholic rebellion thrown in — the anguished emotions of Punk are alive and well in this solo show of paintings by someone who knows a thing or two about the movement. Gina Birch co-founded The Raincoats in the late 70s and continued to make music for the next few decades while extending her creative output to include film. Over the past decade she added Painter to her CV, and a selection of her most recent works is currently on show.
In room after room, contorted faces scream out in anger, agony and frustration. Red death ghouls haunt COVID-fearing masked women. Nuns (I assume) roll their eyes at a naked Christ. And none of this is anywhere near as disturbing as the Three Blond Girls series, because there’s nothing more worrisome than a pack of bored teens biding their time until the adults leave the room.
Rooms also figure prominently in the show, including classrooms, kitchens and other domestic locations. Self portraits are set in cramped, cluttered spaces. Even the gallery itself plays a role: meandering through tiny Georgian townhouses, loose and uneven floorboards provide a creaking soundtrack that fits perfectly with the unsettling emotions on the canvas. Though I would have preferred to have had the turntable playing in the ‘squatters’ room filled with Raincoats records and painted furniture.
Most of the works mine Birch’s life and experiences for inspiration, but my favourite piece is from the “watching my favourite films” series. Ambiguous and disturbing, with hints of erotic undertones, it’s an homage to Jubilee, by Derek Jarman — who was the inspiration for her film career.
To say Birch’s paintings are unsubtle would be an understatement of vast Britishness, but then again so was Punk. Subtlety was never the point. It was loud and the emotions were raw, and so are these works. It’s refreshing to see Birch putting the same level of intensity into her brushes now as she put into her music forty years ago. I left feeling just as energised as I felt listening to The Raincoats back catalog while I wrote this review.
At Gallery 46 (@gallery46whitechapel) until 03 Nov
Visit the Gina Birch Wikipedia page or ginabirchpainting.com to learn more about the artist.