Jeff Sawtell in his 'Secular Chapel' |
Andry art at the Arlington Gallery
Joel Taylor looks at a new exhibition's provocative take on our use of domestic space
THERE is a lot of latent anger in the work on display in an exhibition at a new gallery in Camden Town.
The first sight that welcomes visitors are what appears to be a pair of mummified bodies lying on the floor; on a dais sits an apparently upholstered military shell and upstairs there is a self-styled ‘Secular Chapel’ haranguing the government its “proselytising private rather than public patronage.”
It is all part of a provocative new show at the Arlington Gallery, on the site of the old Parkway bookshop, examining the changing nature of domestic space in modern Britain.
The gallery is not set up for profit but is instead an arm of the Novas group, the national homeless charity that runs the nearby men’s hostel, Arlington House.
It had briefly opened before Christmas with an exhibition of black and white photography but Flat is its first major show, featuring the works of seven artists from the Camden Town area.
The gallery itself is whitewashed and all of the pieces are given a generous space.
The mummified figures and the military shell are both the work of Garry Martin. What is most distinctive is the technique of deep-buttoning, like that used in the upholstery of Chesterfield sofas. The mummies are almost body bags while the shell, called Armchair Warfare, neatly captures the way in which most of us see war only from the comfort of our own living rooms.
Nawfal Salman’s pieces are eye-catching and colourful, and mimic photographs. In fact, the art is more computer based and the landscapes created are all from the artist’s mind.
Perhaps the most powerful pieces in the show is Jeff Sawtell’s Historical Materialism, his ‘Secular Chapel’.
Jeff has been creating installations for several decades and knew about the Arlington Gallery through one of the directors Richard Seymour.
It is a furious paean to his Marxist roots and blends poetry, photography and sculpture. “The original idea was for a collage,” Jeff explains, “with different sections.
“I first jumbled everything up and rearranged things, taking photographs but I needed space to do that.
“I was asked if I wanted to use the room, I will probably go next week and change things around again.”
One wall is covered with photographs of old socialist badges; almost as a memorial to past – many failed – campaigns. There is Coal Not Dole, Hands off Cuba, Zulus Wearmouth NUM and I’m Voting Labour. On another wall are photographs of bookshelves, featuring the works of Engels, Marx, Lenin and other writers who have influenced Jeff.
In the foreground, however, more contemporary images are displayed: cartoon characters; action man; and models. The artist appears to fear that his secular figures of influence are steadily being replaced by more ephemeral objects.
He says: “The writers, Marx, Engels, etc, are icons. I am a Socialist and believe in social justice, but I do think the ‘-ists’ get in the way of actually fighting for people.”
In an alcove is the angriest piece of the collection. A photograph of Jean Charles De Menezes, the Brazilian electrician shot in the head seven times by the police, has been torn from a newspaper and is accompanied by a brutal poem attacking his killing.
He says: “I wrote the poem just after he was shot and re-issued it on the anniversary and it seemed to get a reaction so I thought I would include it again.”
Jeff very much sees it as a piece he can continue to modify.
He adds: “One thing that isn’t there is anything about the Arlington House strike in 1983-4 – that might go up.”
Too often contemporary visual art can avoid meaty subjects. It is more than happy to shock but not actually tackle issues head on.
It makes a change to see something a little different.
Arlington Gallery
Parkway, NW1
Until August 26
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