Wednesday 30 June 2010

MURALS MURALS MURALS

The murals keep growing here at the Superstore and we've been lucky enough to have three new major talents creating murals for us, all different, all beautiful in their different styles, mediums and cultural inspirations.


SHUCKS ONE took over the downstairs toilets to create images of New York rent boys passed their sell by date.


 MACA YANEZ, is an amazing street artist from Chille and an MA graduate from St.Martins, you can spot her works all around London. She took on the stair well in the bar to create an inspiring tree with hybrid animals, flowers and plants.



The fabulous SOPHIE STEPHENS created an almighty pink cartonn toilet for us full of naughtiness and nudity. She has a huge portfolio of work and credits and I'm sure you will recognise her style and also see a lot more of it soon!

Tuesday 18 May 2010

FLESH AND BONE, exhibition by LOUISE RILEY

An erratic mess of desperate embroidery pulls you into Louise Riley’s intense and compelling compositions, built up by layers of fleshy colors and soft textures.
Drawing back the figurative element of her work becomes apparent to reveal surreal narratives with dream like qualities, subjects caught in waking and slumber, or somewhere in between the two; when waking carries with it the symbolism of that nights adventure.
Bodies sprawl over old mattresses which are the canvas for her skin puncturing needle strokes. Her threads corse through these tattered and patterned back- drops, reminiscent of a retro domesticity.

Louise’s 3D body of work is extensive, but her hand writing and media mainly work within the  practices of hand and craft work. Her stitching is like the messy brush strokes of an impressionist painter, mixing colors and directions to create a confused yet realistic palette.
Contrasting her chosen materials which generally lean towards the familiar and domestic, Louise’s concept practice is deeply scientific, but it is the science of nature to which she obsesses; molecules, chemicals and reproductive systems.
These themes resonate through ourselves and through her work to a point of normality, as they are present, we may barley notice them at all, because it is the naturalism and emotion of her work that is apparent. So the contrast becomes a partnership with the familiar.
This gives a depth and organic movement to her work and the characters she portrays.

The melancholy under tone to her work, partnered with her romantic and decorative sensibility results in some of the most unique and breathtaking art you will ever see.




                                                                                        'MILES' (2010)
                                       NICO (2008)
     
                                                                                                             'FAMILY TREE'
                                                                                                 'FAMILY TREE' detail.
                                                                                                   'CORDELIA'



                                                                                                     'FILM STILL'
                                                                                                            'MIA'

Monday 19 April 2010

KATE HARAHAN PHOTOGRAPHY

April at the Gallery Superstore sees the mysterious prints of Kate Harahan. After salvaging a collection of negatives from an old derelict house, she developed the damaged material and produced a collection of enigmatic images with some prolific content of famous foot ball and boxing matches.
Still unsure as to who was the original photographer her investigative creative process continues.




'Reinterpreting the memories of others looks at visual clues left behind in abandoned houses. It focuses on the idea that by observing images of other peoples' forgotten possessions, it is possible to make our own new memories from this information'.

LUKE EMBDEN MURAL

To kick off the new murals project at the Superstore, Luke Embden created a psychedelic wall covering using abstract text that looks like the patterns from a new breed of subcultural wild animal.
Keep your eyes peeled for more from the mural project and Luke's distinct hand writing!

                                                                   The artist at work.

Saturday 20 March 2010

The John Hour 2, The John Hour collective


The John Hour
03.03.10. - 31.03.10
Emma Gibson, Emily Pugh, Raven Smith

THE JOHN HOUR: Producing a body of work which is whimsical yet sinister; familiar yet alien, the three emerging artists—Emma Gibson, Emily Pugh and Raven Smith—functioning collectively under the moniker, The John Hour, continue to investigate and challenge the universally understood rules for a coherent modern society. With photography, set design and installation as their combined media, the trio rigorously explore personal and universal reactions to the construction of the world we live in. In the second in a series of interrogative exhibitions, society's codes of conduct are examined, as are the values attributed to our individual and collective actions.

JAPED EMULSIFIERS
RAVEN SMITH,



TOWARDS THE LIGHT 2010
EMILY PUGH,
Installation using found books.


Challenged with the intimate, industrial nature of the building, I wanted to create an organic and delicate display that could still be capturing in its eclectic setting. The effect of TOWARDS THE LIGHT is to be simultaneously graceful yet momentarily unsettling for the viewer walking through the stairwell.

Aesthetically, light combined with pattern, tone and line bring hidden life to the book pages transforming their function into a more visual, wondrous experience.


DIE NOW PAY LATER
EMMA GIBSON,
Mixed media installations 2010


Assisted suicide is currently illegal in the UK. Since the suicide act of 1961 it is not illegal to commit suicide although it is forbidden to aid another’s. Helping someone to die carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years. The guidelines for prosecution are constantly changing.

The argument between prolonging life and hastening death parallels the struggles between conscience and heart, compassion and indifference.

Will this result in cashing in on despair?


RECYCLE YOUR SOLDIERS
EMMA GIBSON + EMILY PUGH
100% recycled  mixed media installation 2010

Every warrior society has, for thousands of years, experienced a "purification ritual" to help returning combatants deal with their "blood guilt" and to reassure them that what they did in combat was "good." These rituals traditionally involve long periods while marching or sailing home, the cool-down, group therapy period.

The introduction of “conditioning” in modern army training, aircraft, technology & the individual replacement system that hampered bonding and ensured that soldiers often arrived and left as strangers, resulted in the denial of this purification ritual and millions of psychiatric casualties, hence the discovery of PTSD. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

It is often said that "All's fair in love and war," but is this a cultural conspiracy?

'Somewhere Inside' Group show.



‘SOMEWHERE INSIDE’
Alannah Barker, Leila Peacock, Henry Mackay-Bull, Riva Pearce, Alex Kyriacou
Moses Powers, Alex Noble.
Private View 3rd Feb, 7- 10, Exhibition 4th Feb - 28th Feb
Dalston Superstore, 117 Kingsland High st, e8 2pb

‘Somewhere Inside’ is an exhibition of works that explore themes of the innate, subconscious and hidden sides of our characters that exist inside us all.
Work that seems to connect with something with in, haunting images that make subconscious connections to parts of the human psyche.

Including painting, drawing, photography, film and installation; ‘Somewhere Inside’ is a diverse exhibition from artists who’s work compliments and contrasts each other, much like the processes of the human mind.

Exploring sides of the character we may celebrate or deny, somewhere inside they exist regardless. Similar to the indescribable visions from dreams, that flash familiarity and bewilderment.

These works are a manifestation of the unseen.


                                                                         'Untitled 1 + 2'
                                                                         Alannah Barker

                                                                              'Dud'.
                                                                                 'Spat',
                                                                             Riva Pearce.



                                                                          Leila Peacock

                                                                                                            'Marylin 2'
                                                                                'Phat'
                                                                               'Venus'
                                                                          Alex Kyriakou

                                                                     Henry Mackay Bull