Paul Insect, 'Object Desire'
The natural light slowly gives way to a dim illumination within the tunnel, and the brick walls plastered with graffiti shine as I walk past them, colourful and fantastical in their construction. As I carry on deeper into the tunnel, people start to appear, and slowly, as in within the eye of a storm, the full force of the event emerges, with an amassed group waiting to enter the solitary black door that'll lead into the exhibition. I'm in the dilapidated underpass near the London Eye, on my way to see 'Hells Half Acre,' an enigmatic exhibition of talented new British artists put on by the Lazarides gallery in the Old Vic tunnels in East London. The show is a word-of-mouth event, only available to those in-the-know, with Kevin Spacey as one of the co-ordinators, and the space is phenomenal, intensely urban down to the concrete floor and wet, damp walls.
The art mirrors the harsh setting well. In the first room I see a hanging orb, beautiful and serene it glows a hypnotic green and rotates slowly, but as I get closer I realise with a harking sensation that it is not an orb at all, but a circle made up entirely of slotted syringes. I am horrified, and yet grotesquely humoured. The collection of art displayed is a combination of sculpture, film, photography, painting and even, taxidermy, with each piece of work having its own unique twist.
Quite possibly my favourite piece in the show; layers of transparent acrylic panels placed one behind the other when stood directly in front of reveal that the collage of fragmented images make up the two forms of naked women in prayer. Jonathan Yeo is the artist to be congratulated, often constructing such technically fascinating images.
A smoke filled room boasted an incredibly serene atmosphere, the light glowing from another, yet crystallised, orb.
George Washington or Bernie Madoff? I believe the irony makes it both. At the end of the night someone noticed that a particularly engrossed viewer had tacked a ten dollar bill to the subject's mouth. Quite fitting I thought, and indeed, so amusing, that a member from the gallery team went up to congratulate the gentleman for his innovation.
Photographs by the quizzical 'Boogie'
Reflected onto a pool of water, and framed in an elegant arch, this video installation of bursting flames is the creation of artist Doug Foster.
Conor Harrington, a series of paintings entitled 'Holy Smoke Quintet'
Mark Jenkins, Chrysalis
