2024 - Issue 115
All the shows this week give visibility to under-represented people and processes, and that includes mermaids!
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Utilising a 150-year old, largely forgotten technology Pia Östlund (@piaostlund_natureprinting) makes amazingly lifelike, deeply textured depictions of seaweed and other organics. Based on the results I’m surprised I’d not seen it done before. Once I learned how the process works I understood why. The exhibition includes samples of the lead and copper plates used to create the final prints, along with a back room overview of the process. But like me, you’ll probably spend all your time in the main gallery wondering whether these are really pigment on paper depictions and not dried versions of the real thing.
‘Sea of Love’ at No Show Space (@noshowspace) until 13 Jul
Even if you don’t understand every nuance of “the intricate world of coded language, symbols and gestures nestled within queer communities” you’ll certainly appreciate the strength of the talent on display. Eva Dixon’s (@evadixon.png) fabric paintings, Sadie Lee’s (@sadieleeartist) pencil portraits, Whisky Chow’s (@whisky.chow) 3D printed stainless steel sculpture and Lulu Bennett’s (@lulu.bennett) giant oil painting ‘Samantha Pepys and the Biological Lie’ are just some of the works that drew my eye, but with 18 artists in total covering a wide range of medium, including 15 pairs of Dr Marten Boots (!), there is literally something for everyone.
‘Ultraviolet’ by KKWEER Arts (@kkweerarts) until 14 Jul
Venue location: 15 Bateman Street, W1D 3AQ (@15batemanstreet)
The ground floor begins with some large and forgettable abstracts, thankfully interspersed with dispersion, oil and spray paint on Japanese paper works that are absolutely sublime. They aren’t figurative, but forms that appear to be a blend of human, vegetable and insect emerge and then recede back into the semi-transparent canvas on which they are made. To get to the rest of the show you’ll climb a set of steep stairs. I thought that made me lightheaded until I realised the 2nd floor of works by Klondin Erb (@klondin_erb) were actually just bonkers. Over two dozen depictions of mermaids dancing with various fish-men (or man-fish?) made me wonder if I had somehow been transported into an obscure Disney fan-fiction sub-Reddit.
‘Klondin Erb’ at Bernheim (@bernheimgallery) until 19 Jul
I’m generally not interested in editions but I love a good woodcut. These works by Alexi Marshall (@aleximjmarshall) aren’t either but look like both, so this show ticks my boxes even though I’m mixed on the imagery that hovers uncertainly between tarot card illustration and scientific diagram. Made via ‘suicide method’ — in which linocut prints utilise the artist’s body instead of a press — these one-off works are filled with pressure marks and production smudges that give me the same kinds of soothing emotions as a well worn leather jacket or the clasp of a grandmother’s hand.
‘Nostalgia for the Mud’ at Brooke Benington (@brookebenington) until 03 Aug
From the giant, distressed heads to the suspended bodies made from veins of light, these works are inspired by and pay tribute to “people, objects and belief systems that lie outside the often narrow parameters of Western contemporary art”, or even common historical knowledge. Here they are given prominence courtesy of the deep fascination with human exploration that has influenced the art of Tavares Strachan (@tavaresstrachan). Inspired by the mash-up of recognisable imagery with cultural symbolism, I found myself spending more time googling the names on the title cards than I spent studying the visual details, which are also superbly produced and worthy of close scrutiny. If school history lessons had been this visually interesting my career might have taken a radically different path.
‘There is Light Somewhere’ at Hayward Gallery (@hayward.gallery) until 01 Sep
Tickets: £18 adult / Children under 12 free / Discounts available
Sometimes all people need is to be seen, but it helps if you’ve got a superb photographer. Through their lens, Zanele Muholi (@muholizanele) works to “raise awareness of injustices and create positive visual histories for under- and mis-represented communities” in their native South Africa and beyond. This show is filled to the brim with photos that tell Black LGBTQIA+ stories, but the most powerful and impactful images come when the artist turns the camera on themself in works that challenge and subvert stereotypes of both race and fashion photography. Larger than life bronze sculptures provide additional visual intrigue but the heroes of this show are the everyday people brave enough to pose as their authentic self.
‘Zanele Muholi’ at Tate Modern (@tate) until 26 Jan
Tickets: £18 adult / Children under 12 free / Discounts available
PLUS…
Check the What’s On page so you don’t miss any other great shows closing soon.
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