Wow! What a week this has been... As PhotoLondon 2015 debuted and succeeded, OffPrint took over the Turbine Hall in the Tate Modern, SPBH curated a weird and wonderfully pleasurable Project Space, I've drunk my body weight in alcohol and danced off the rest, and finally smoked out the Turbine Hall in the performative installation, The Smoke House, it's been fantastic, but I am looking forward to relaxing now!!!
The week commenced with many openings, very notably the Whitechapel Gallery's exhibition of Christopher Williams which is an absolute must, a truly delicate show that astounds you, as you wonder through the show, dropped hang photographs are set against rough, unfinished walls with not an ounce of contrive, just perfect curation. Then onto the MaxMara Prize for Women, as Prosecco filled our glasses, the works controlled the centre stage, intermixing textiles, installation with a strong Italian essence and style.
The week continued in the same vain, opening, after opening including of course the new Photo Fair at Somerset House. Some excellent galleries worth mentioning are of course, Rose Gallery with their stunning original Eggleston's that are truly out of this world, Flowers Gallery with their perfect positioning and collection of both emerging and established back to back, Ingleby Gallery's presentation that was utterly divine and many others like Tristan Hoare and Ravestijn Gallery. It is worth mentioning that the fair itself is rather difficult to navigate through and would benefit from some strong thematic curation, but as a first, I think it could be a good balance between the many others!
Friday saw OffPrint open at the Tate, and what an opening it was. Hundreds upon hundreds of people turned up to see, experience and purchase as well as watch and take part in the SPBH Project Space programme of events and performances. From Selfie-Stick aerobics, Hacking, Crystal Healing, Live book making to Laughter, the programme engaged and amazed many.
I was very proud and honoured to be taking part and on Sunday 24th at 16:00pm, my performance started in the Turbine Hall! As the glasshouse was wheeled through the publishers into position, a sense of intrigue built. Smoke was pumped into the glasshouse, getting thicker and thicker by the second. It bellowed up into the roof, swirling and spiralling, catching the black books as it rose, each one gently spinning. The smoke continued for a time, before being released out into the Turbine Hall, as I entered the glasshouse and for a time disappeared amongst the smoke before the doors and windows where opened. Clouds of thick white smoke, danced their way out of the glasshouse into the space, as onlookers watched intently.
For those who missed the performance you can see it here on SPBH TV:
It was a week to remember and now I look forward to a well earned rest, a massive thank you to all that supported the performance, in front of and behind the scenes!
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