Symbolic Exchange & Death

Symbolic Exchange & Death is the title of the exhibition hosted by Wolf & Badger on Dover Street and presented by YuMiHu, featuring the work of artists Pinky Love, Eleanor Fawcett and Eleanor Barreau. The exhibition may be small in scale but the work is thematically ambitious and varied across sculpture, paintings, collage and print. Paloma Faith dropped in to say hello and even Ralph Fiennes walked in and purchased a piece while we enjoyed a champagne reception and mingled with the über cool crowd at this private viewing. The exhibition is free and runs at Wolf & Badger Mayfair until 7th August 2012. All artwork is on sale so collectors better get in there quick before all of the pieces are snapped up, and we're pretty sure they will be!

Rankin x Ayami Nishimura

Yesterday Rankin celebrated the release of his second book in his beauty trilogy which sees him collaborating with different makeup artists, previously Alex Box and now Japanese born Ayami Nishimura. The book was a labour of love and precision, taking two and a half years to complete and the images are striking, with bold use of colour and a futurist tone. You can order the book from Amazon for £34.99 and it's available now. A selection of photographs were on display at the Annroy gallery last night for the launch party and will stay on display until the 31st of August, check out some of my pics below (click to view full size):

This Is Circus: A Multi-Dimensional Exhibition

Legendary club night Circus, for which I DJ, celebrated its 5th anniversary last month and in conjunction with this landmark occasion Circus ringleader Jodie Harsh unleashed a multidimensional exhibition featuring 100 of London's nocturnal characters, showcasing an intricate large-scale photograph of all involved as its centerpiece. The photograph, by Tim Bret Day, was also accompanied by video footage, and the exhibition was held at Bond - 24 Kingly Street. If you missed out don't worry, you can have a look at the video below featuring a glimpse of the installation, as well as the backstage video and the exhibition teaser. I don't have a picture of the full large-scale photograph (featuring the likes of Jamie Winstone, Sadie Frost, Natt Weller and a whole heap of special guests and colorful characters) but I do have my individual photo, where I'm dressed as some kind of fallen angel, check it out! I styled myself with some quirky pieces I've been given over the years, including a Jeremy Scott for Adidas jacket, trousers and mesh top by Horace and boots by No Name:

 

Intense!

Nan Goldin - Fireleap

There's something instantly nostalgic about Nan Goldin's photography for me, an ethereal quality mixed with a rawness of truth in capturing fleeting moments of intimacy. This latest exhibition at the Sprovieri gallery in London showcases her new slideshow, titled Fireleap, which focuses on children, capturing the nuances of childhood interaction and behavior; a consciousness uninhibited in the face of societal boundaries, free yet alienated. The slideshow photos span from 1978 to today, shown over a soundtrack of songs sung by children, including Spacy Oddity by David Bowie (which you can hear below), with a short running time of 15 minutes in total. There are also a number of landscape photographs on view as well, which have never previously been shared. It's a small exhibition but one that's definitely worth having a look at.

Fireleap is showing until August 6th at Sprovieri, 23 Heddon Street, London W1B 4BQ, and entry is free.

Love Is What You Want

Last week I went to check out the Tracy Emin exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London. The exhibition covers every period of her career, revealing facets of the artist and her work that are often overlooked, and features painting, drawing, photography, textiles, video and sculpture, in works that are by turns tough, romantic, desperate, angry, funny and full of longing. Seldom-seen early works and recent large-scale installations are shown together with a new series of outdoor sculptures created especially for the Hayward Gallery. I found the exhibition to be extremely well curated, grabbing your attention immediately with the engaging large-scale textile pieces displayed alongside a full-scale derelict wooden pier titled Knowing my Enemy (2002). Personally I'm a big fan of Emin's work, drawn to her mixture of humor and pathos; she places her own personal experiences at the forefront of her creative output with extreme vulnerability, and yet there's usually a strong sense of irony involved in her work that I find darkly comic and existentially aware at the same time. There is perhaps an over-abundance of material on display, and it may be exhausting to examine everything in detail, but I'm confidant everyone can pick and choose as to how much of the exhibition they consume and enjoy it on their own terms. Love Is What You Want runs until Monday 29 August 2011.

Yohji Yamamoto at the V&A

Last week me and Emmanuel went to check out the Yohji Yamamoto exhibition at the V&A, as fans of his work and after the brilliantly curated Japanese designers exhibition at the Barbican recently we were very excited to see this latest offering.

Unfortunately the exhibition at the V&A was rather rudimentary; although it showcases 80 womenswear and menswear looks from over the years they are mostly grouped together in one room, with the remainder scattered around the gallery halls. Considering that Yamamoto is one of the most influential avante-garde designers of all time, with a career spanning 30 years since his own label debut in Paris in 1981 and his Y-3 collaboration line with Adidas still going, it's a little disappointing that there isn't more to see and read about here.

There are a number of video installations lined up against one wall, including footage from a few catwalk shows and some of his work with renowned filmmakers Wim Wenders and Takeshi Kitano, but it would have been nice to see some more in-depth information about Yamamoto's processes and work history. It's far from arbitrary but we do think this great designer deserves a bigger and better retrospective.

The exhibition runs until the 10th of July 2011 and is priced between £5 and £7. Below you can see a few photos from the gallery.

Stormtroopers in Stilettos

Last week I was invited to the launch of an exhibition called Stormtroopers in Stilettos at the Old Truman Brewery on London's Brick Lane where guests included Brian May, Foo Fighters and Jessie J; the exhibition charts the formation and rise of the band Queen, taking an in-depth behind-the-scenes look into the band's activity. Featuring extensive information including background history, facts and quotes, interactive audio/visual pieces and plenty of memorabilia including original costumes by Zandra Rhodes and the studio set-up from the first John Peel sessions, the exhibit features plenty to see.

Stormtroopers in Stilettos begins a year long celebration marking the 40th anniversary of Queen's formation in 1971 and will be followed by a new BBC documentary featuring rare interviews with Roger Taylor and Brian May as well as the filming and production of a Hollywood film starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury, scripted by acclaimed screenwriter Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon). Entry to Stormtroopers in Stilettos at Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, London, E1, is free of charge and open from 11.00AM until 8.00PM daily until the 12th of March. I highly recommend you check it out!

Deformed - Transformed

D E F O R M E D - T R A N S F O R M E D

JOHN PICKERING / REBECCA IVATTS

SW1 GALLERY, Victoria Street, London
SEPT 16 – OCT 3 (Private view on Tuesday, September 15, 6.30-8.30pm)

Hands deformed by rheumatoid arthritis depicted on vast canvases; mathematical equations transformed into spatial sculptures waiting to be inhabited by our imaginations: yet these impossibly gnarled hands belong to the sculptor himself. This is the astonishing truth behind the unique collaboration between emerging painter, Rebecca Ivatts, and veteran sculptor, John Pickering.