Art On An Island: An Orchestra of Strings

I got to this exhibition a bit later than I intended as it opened in London almost two weeks ago. I was initially quite excited to go to the gallery because they were featuring work from one of my favorite artists Otto Schade.

The gallery is tucked away in the back of the St. Pancras Parish church, just across the street from Euston station. It takes a bit to find it, but the entrance is the back door of the church.

If you do journey to the gallery you won't be disappointed. Featuring works by many contemporary artists the works are splayed throughout the Crypt both embracing the venue and emboldening it with the works vicious commentary on life, death and art.

Curator Teresa Mills explains:

Our fear of love and loss is a very human condition. These artists present their work in a particular way around this theme. I hope this exhibition presents a serious side, a positive side but also a slightly humorous side to a necessary emotion to deal with the events of life.

I was most struck by both Otto's pieces and Jonathan Waller. I hadn't come across Waller's work before but it intrigued me the way art should. I walked by it and enjoyed it at first glance, and then needed to get a closer look and discovered things about the piece (the sea shells, the writing in the teeth) that had previously escaped me.

Apparently Waller is a senior lecturer at Coventry University and according to his bio:

Jonathan Waller is an artist living and working in London. He has exhibited widely, and has work in a number of important public and private collections. Both his parents and elder brothers served in the Royal Navy and his grandfather was a ship's doctor. His great-great grandfather was a wayward Victorian painter who earner a living as a portraitist and depicter of nautical genre scenes.

In addition to Waller, the other artist that I was quite impressed with was Valentina Gomez.

Her installation in one of the Crypt rooms was haunting and powerful. Her repeated pastups of flies (at least i think they were flies) on the walls only added to the closed in feel to the space. With the empty shoes connected to a dress that looked like it had just been worn and left in a hurry, the entire installation left one quite moved by the precense of the art. If i were more articulate i could probably describe it better!

Anyway, a great exhibition, always interesting seeing art in a crypt!

Anne Lydiat's piece - Return Flight. Made on blank jigsaw puzzle pieces pen and ink

Anwyl Cooper-Willis' piece - The Legend of Alice Downham

A view looking down the hall of the crypt with one of Waller's pieces in the foreground.

Jonathan Waller - Lietenant Hog's-flesh. Made of wood, wax and found objects.

Waller - Vice Admiral of the narrow Sea

The teeth say 'prologue'

This was an interesting piece that's hard to capture on (still) camera. It's by Kathy Taylor and titles - Will you Still Love Me? The toothbrushes are attached to strings which spin on a motor so the effect of the brushes clinking on the glass are what makes this piece powerful.