Kim Noble’s Lullaby for Scavengers reminds me a lot of Lucretius, an ancient Roman philosopher and poet. He compared his poetry to medicine: when a child is sick, we give them a cup of harsh tasting medicine lined with honey around the rim. It fools the child into drinking the medicine and they feel better for it. Just like this, Lucretius teaches us about the way the universe works, but does so in poetry to soften scary, uncomfortable and inconvenient truths.

Lullaby for Scavengers is the opposite. Noble chucks some of humanity’s key experiences and vulnerabilities – loss, love, loneliness – right into the gutter. To invert Lucretius’s metaphor, the sweetness lies behind the excrement-lined rim.

As he first stumbles on stage, I’m unimpressed by how much Noble uses the f word. I’m not offended by it, I just don’t find it particularly funny by itself. We quickly meet his ex-lover (a taxidermied squirrel called Squirrel, who also swears a lot), and his daughters (live maggots he keeps in a jar). It seems comparable to that weird kid in the playground who ate worms just to gross people out.

But with time, Noble introduces significance to all his abjection and shows us more of himself. We see clips of him working as a cleaner in an office, where the workers do everything they can not to interact with him, despite his advances; he ties a full vacuum cleaner bag from an elderly client to a balloon, with the intention of sending his dust (and therefore him, technically) to space. He even seats one of his maggot daughters in an appropriately small cinema he’s built on stage, so she can learn about her father’s chosen trade of performance art.

Once we recognise the humanity in Noble’s acts of minor deviance, we find that same humanity in his acts of quite serious aberrance. In one video, he snogs (for lack of a better term) his own mother, and in perhaps his most egregious deed, he puts a live maggot inside his penis. Obviously, it is disgusting, but – in the context of Noble’s performance – equally entrancing.

At risk of coming to an obvious conclusion, it is Noble’s ability to offer us perversion and keep us willingly in our seats that is most impressive. Throughout Lullaby for Scavengers, he obsessively returns to maggots, squirrels and foxes: in other words, vermin. Quite crassly, he even incorporates the homeless man who sits outside his local supermarket into his show. But, by underscoring the tenderness in the animals and people who are all too often considered little more than nuisances or eyesores, he suggests that they are worth more attention than they are customarily given (or perhaps that we are just as debased as they are).

Noble exhibits a wide range of talents in Lullaby for Scavengers, but the one that is most amusing and astounding is tightrope walking. He spends just over an hour straddling the thin line between the absurd and the obscene – and occasionally losing balance – but by the force of some miracle never actually falls off. If you go, just remember that the bitter comes before the sweet.

Image Credit: Joanna Peterson

Review by Cian Kinsella 

Cian is a Classics teacher and part-time pub quizmaster living in London who is primarily interested in music but is also interested in theatre, literature, and visual arts. He is particularly intrigued by the relationship between art, criticism, and the capital forces always at play. Furthermore, he believes that subjectivity – which is ultimately at the heart of all artistic and cultural criticism – should not be concealed, but probed and perhaps even celebrated. Who decides what we like? How do they construct widely held beliefs about what is good? These are two of the questions Cian looks to address.

Cian’s latest feature on Abundant Art Review: Phaedra-a new play by Simon Stone after Euripides, Seneca and Racine-National Theatre until 8 April (abundantart.net)

Footnote: 

Soho Theatre in association with John Mackay present this CAMPO production until 8 April. 

Cult comedic performance artist Kim Noble lived in a tree, down a sewer, under an insurance office desk and in an unsuspecting client’s attic. Now he returns to Soho Theatre with his critically acclaimed show.

Tickets and information: Kim Noble: Lullaby for Scavengers – Soho Theatre

The original soundtrack to Lullaby for Scavengers by Stephen & David Dewaele (aka Soulwax / 2manydjs) is now available on a limited edition cassette (with download code) via their DEEWEE record label. You can add it to your basket at checkout and copies can be collected at Soho Theatre, as a UK exclusive, during the run of Kim’s show. Price £11

In Room 46 on the second floor of the National Gallery, this tucked-in pocket within the vast treasures and picture-scapes of the Gallery hosts a changing season of exhibitions. These of which submit to a focus on smaller and less acknowledged artworks. The Ugly Duchess, Beauty and Satire in the Renaissance as an exhibition is no exception with Massys’ ‘The Ugly Duchess’ taking a much-deserved centre stage, and this time for all the right reasons.

Quinten Massys’ An Old Woman (‘The Ugly Duchess’) [c.1513] is utterly arresting, we are drawn to every detailed line. The costume and gesture are for all intended purposes to seduce a man. Yet she is portrayed to falter at every turn, the headdress is one for the 15^th century, which defines her as too old-fashioned. It yields as a pleading, as an overbearing decoration of female vanity, – her rosebud, is drooping. Grey hair, sagging and wart-ridden skin, with a low-cut dress, we are meant to laugh at the prospect of her being a maiden, sully and read her to filth for her lust is a joke, for she is unable to refrain from her sexuality, – a sexuality which is but her own.

The room exhibits Massys’ contemporaries including Jan Gossaert’s An Elderly Couple [c.1520] which dually is an uncompromising image of old age: honest, bare and neither chews the fat of the sitters’ preclusions about their gloried appearance. Yet there is no bite, the man remains on the proper right, the woman’s gaze is downward, and she is dressed modestly with a covered chest, unlike An Old Woman who shares none of these attributes and comfortably takes the seated position on the right. The old woman is in the right, in the subject, but remains one favoured by none, even in fable and fiction. The other side of this painted pair, Quinten Massys’ An Old Man [c.1513], is conventional. The old man is sober, his salutation is moving into rebuke, for this is love unrequited. His ageing is a maturing of the soul, rather than one of spectacle, grievance, and ridicule. With even Massys’ study of An Old Man [1513], a work on paper laid over the canvas, shown beside the final rendering is viewed as also commercially appealing. Invariably showing this man’s temperance pervades, all times, renderings, and versions. The misogyny is rampant, not just in the world of the 16th-century character head, but still holds focus in its relatability today.

The Ugly Duchess is a legacy of a misunderstood image, mainly due to its relationship to the inspiration for the infamous duchess in Alice in Wonderland.  The painting is recognised and taunted over, but the date, context, and even the artist are unknown by most. Massys was a pioneer for satirical painting, and An Old Woman is arguably his greatest accomplishment. This painting and the other drawings/depictions within the exhibition set the scene for how novel, lively, and truly unserious the artistic exchanges of the 16^th century were at times. As much as this work speaks to only a cruel joke it is also as subversive and disobedient against the conventions of the day. Under Massys’ instruction, the classically told tale of portraiture is made reactionary, a true instigator of parody of character heads and double portraiture. The pretty is forever restricted by societal norms and its beauty standards are one frame single-minded. White to quote, Umberto Eco, ‘ugliness is infinite like God.’

Massys is in deep contact with Leonardo da Vinci’s intrigue with the grotesque, with da Vinci’s drawing A Grotesque Old Woman, [also on display], as the chalked-in motif plucked and ran with, as what An Old Woman is based upon. Leonardo’s vernacular pervades Massys work, in fanciful exploration and experimentation. In da Vinci’s Seven Grotesque Profiles [1520-1600], the carnation in the bosom finds a home in the rosebud between the fingertips of Massys’ An Old Woman.

Also exhibited is Israel van Meckenem’s The Unequal Couple, which requires nothing but close attention, exercising the value of the relationship between the older woman and the younger man as purely transactional. The older woman is made fun of, as a lesser with complexions sickly, and a despondent smile. As ultimately the other. She is centred only as the subject of entertainment, as an image to amuse the court.

Other conversations do prevail with the South German Artist’s work, A Seated Old Woman [c.1520-25], which triggers the notions of the classical nude, refuting a defiant figure, instead, she is shown frail, fallen, and weak. Her ribcage holds the visible centre of the sculpture. This is a vanitas, a study of the passing of time and what will become of us all. The lustful woman in old age finds an equal counterpart in the engraving of Albrecht Durer’s A witch Riding Backwards In A goat [c1550], which depicts an old woman as a hag, as truly sexually fierce, a then contemporaries’ first. The hag is dangerous, unapologetic, and unchecked.

This is the second of four exhibitions for the National Gallery’s spring season, the former being the ongoing Nalini Malani: My Reality is Different, the third being upcoming After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art, and finally in late Spring Saint Francis of Assisi. This rich selection is only the beginning of all that is leading up to the bicentenary of the National Gallery next year.

This reckoned-with and now reignited gem, Massys’ An Old Woman, seated centre first with its contemporaries and influences, are here for our viewing pleasure right until the exhibition close on the 11th of June 2023.

Image: An Old Woman (‘The Ugly Duchess’) about 1513, Quinten Massys (1465/6 – 1530), Oil on oak 62.4 x 45.5 cm, The National Gallery, London

Review by Devika Pararasasinghe

Devika is currently living and working in London, by trade an artist and snake oil salesperson. Devika graduated in September 2022 with a research MFA at Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford.

Devika’s latest review Review: Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle-Barbican Art Gallery until 21 May (abundantart.net)

Footnote:

Emma Capron, Associate Curator (Renaissance Painting) at the National Gallery, says: “The Ugly Duchess’ is an iconic image with a strong contemporary resonance. She has captivated generations of artists and visitors to the National Gallery. We are thrilled to unravel this work and reunite it for the first time ever with the grotesque drawings after Leonardo da Vinci that inspired it.”

For more information visit The Ugly Duchess: Beauty and Satire in the Renaissance | Exhibitions | National Gallery, London

Gagosian London Presents Group Exhibition of Work by Contemporary Artists with a Shared
History of Migration

Curated by the British-Nigerian writer and curator, Péjú Oshin, 19 contemporary artists are brought together for Gogosian’s new exhibition at its Britannia Street gallery entitled Rites of Passage. The artists chosen, share a history of migration but, instead of implying any kind of sweeping political stance on this fact, the title of the exhibition sets the tone for unique insight into the variety of situations, perspectives and experiences which have necessarily brought the artists to create the art displayed – Rites of Passage. Rather, the contemporary political relevance emerges in the manner in which, through themes of ritual, spirituality, fantasy, family and history, the artists explore the meaning of postcolonial Black identity in the present. The African diaspora experience and how it manifests today becomes the crux of the exhibition that lets it stand strong in its present London location.

The work of three artists in particular stood out to me. Alexandria Smith’s A time for those that remained (2023) absorbed me for its figurative uniqueness. It is a mixed media on a three-dimensional layered wood assemblage which effectively captures the theme of embodied memory. The two central figures are ambiguous yet joyful, while a dark cloud literally clouds their faces, their identities. The arch shape of the work and the structure of the composition are perhaps references to the common manner of depicting historical and religious portraits in the Western cannon. The layers of Smith’s work, both literally and symbolically, lend themselves to underscoring the beautiful complexity of understanding identities in today’s world.

The photographs by the artist Àsìkò were instantly recognisable as they are part of the exhibition promotion. Perhaps surprising and confusing at first for their apparent drama, the artist draws on various masquerade traditions belonging to the Yoruba culture and assembles them to suggest how their representations affects contemporary diasporic identities. Against striking landscapes, the adorned figures are tall and overbearing, intentionally placing the viewer on the spot in ways that few other works on display do so boldly.

Nengi Omuku’s large-scale painting, Eden (2022) depicts an ethereal scene in which figures are interlaced into a vast landscape that extends into the distance. Figural but abstract in its execution, this combination immediately conveys a sense of calm. An important quality to the painting is Omuku’s cleaver use of mediums that emanate light and connect her to her country of birth: she adopts a Fauvist oil paint palette on strips of sanyan, a traditional Nigerian fabric, that she weaves together to create her large canvas. The textural weave underpins the natural fluidity of the work and references a collective experience of joy of place that can’t be missed.

Due to its everlasting nature, the theme of migration and identity has long been the subject of artistic practices. The theorist T. J. Demos argued that the diasporic art of the 80s was based on a feeling of essential sadness and loss, while the nomadic art practices of the 90s embraced ideas of dislocation to re-frame the idea of a sole lost home.

By not being overly narrated, the current exhibition at the Gogosian allows the art on display to speak for itself and make one consider what this decade’s relationship with these themes could provide. Personally, I feel that different to an embrace, the work on display acknowledges the natural flux inherent in the human experience in a refreshingly positive light. The proud individuality of such ‘Passages’ prompts the viewer to reconsider their own role, position, or agency in the process.

Image: ÀSÌKÒ Pillars at the Port, 2022, giclée print on baryta paper 63 x 42 1/8 in, 160 x 107 cm, edition of 5 + 2 AP, © Àsìkò Courtesy the artist

Review by Michela Giachino

Since studying History of Art at The University of Oxford Michela has continued to pursue her interests in art and culture. She particularly enjoys considering how contemporary and historical art forms are presented to the wider public through exhibitions and viewings at art institutions. Michela’s favourite mediums include photography, film, painting and drawing, and she is always excited to learn about new art.

Read Michela’s latest review here Review: Turn It Out with Tiler Peck & Friends- ‘Colourful and light-hearted, classical and emotive, vibrant and experimental’-Sadler’s Wells 9-11 March – Abundant Art

Footnote:

Rites of Passage explores the idea of “liminal space,” a coinage of anthropologist Arnold van Gennep (1873–1957). In his 1909 book, after which the exhibition is titled, Van Gennep was among the first to observe that the transitional events of birth, puberty, marriage, and death are marked by ceremonies with a ritual function that transcends cultural boundaries.

Featured artists: Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Àsìkò, Phoebe Boswell, Adelaide Damoah, Femi Dawkins, Victor Ehikhamenor, Mary Evans, Ayesha Feisal, Enam Gbewonyo, Elsa James, Julianknxx, Sahara Longe, Manyaku Mashilo, Emily Moore, Nengi Omuku, Patrick Quarm, Alexandria Smith, Sharon Walters, and Michaela Yearwood Dan

RITES OF PASSAGE
Opening reception: Thursday, March 16, 6–8pm
March 16–April 29, 2023
6–24 Britannia Street, London

For more information –Rites of Passage, Britannia Street, London, March 16–April 29, 2023 | Gagosian

A gallery turned into an apocalyptic wasteland – Mike Nelson: Extinction Beckons, currently on view at the Hayward Gallery, is a stimulating and thought-provoking exhibition that invites the viewer to explore the precarity of humanity.

Mike Nelson: Extinction Beckons brings together a selection of works from the last 30 years, reconfigured within the Hayward Gallery’s brutalist architecture. Renowned artist Mike Nelson has shown in galleries around the world, including representing Great Britain at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. Of his works, Nelson says “My intent has always been to make immersive works. They should have a narrative, a spacial aspect, but also a psychological effect on the senses: you’re seeing and feeling one thing while your brain is trying to override this and tell you something else”.

The exhibition comprises a series of immersive installations that are constructed from found objects and salvaged materials. Designed to create a sense of disorientation and dislocation, the structures blur the boundaries between reality and fiction. Furthermore, the viewer is forced to reflect on the relationship between humans and the natural world. We are consistently reminded of our impact on the environment through Nelson’s use of discarded materials – perished rubber tires, rusted wire caging, broken machinery. 

One of the most striking works in the show is ‘The Deliverance and the Patience’. The installation is a maze-like series of small rooms with several doors in each – every few steps the viewer must make a decision about which one to open next. Each room contains something slightly different, although all have a sense of being abandoned. The work is equal parts disorientating and daunting.

Mike Nelson: Extinction Beckons is a must-see exhibition for anyone interested in the intersection between contemporary art and the climate crisis. Although at times it feels a little overwhelming…sometimes even a little frightening, ultimately this expansive and intriguing exhibition is one that will stay in your memory.

Review by Amy Melling

Amy is a Curator and Creative Producer whose practice is centred around community-led arts projects. Her current research is focused on curatorial methods for exhibiting artworks outside. Amy has a keen interest in the arts and recently completed an MA in Curating and Collections at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL.

Read Amy’s latest review here Review: Standing At the Sky’s Edge-‘This new musical is a striking reminder of the power of community’-National Theatre until 25 March – Abundant Art

Footnote: 

Image: Installation view of Mike Nelson, Triple Bluff Canyon (the woodshed), 2004. Various materials. M25, 2023. Found tyres. Photo: Matt Greenwood. Courtesy the artist and the Hayward Gallery.

Mike Nelson: Extinction Beckons is showing at Hayward Gallery until 7th May 2023 and more information is available here. 

Mike Nelson: Extinction Beckons is supported by the Henry Moore Foundation and the Extinction Beckons Exhibition Supporters Group: 303 Gallery, New York; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Rennie Collection, Vancouver; and those who wish to remain anonymous. The catalogue and public programme is supported by Kingston School of Art, Kingston University.

Colourful and light-hearted, classical and emotive, vibrant and experimental, the variety of themes that form the four-part ballet dance series ‘Turn it Out with Tiler Peck & Friends’, makes the performance as a whole stand out as a contemporary pool of artistic talent.

The string that ties them together is the star of the show, Tiler Peck herself, the California-born principal dancer of New York City Ballet, who choreographs parts and dances in others.  With Peck’s guiding presence, the variety of themes, types of dance, along with the music, just flies. Knowing that the four-part series is her project makes one perhaps appreciate and connect the impressive range of reactions they experience while watching, rather than come away confused by the choice of seemingly unrelated themes.

The first performance, Thousand Orange, is bouncy and friendly. Six dancers with their synchronised movements share the stage with a group of classical musicians who connect us viewers through a strong far-reaching sound. Going into the second performance, entitled Swift Arrow, we quickly learn that live music played on stage becomes a central theme to the show as a whole. For this performance, a single pianist accompanies an emotional ballet duet. The choreography is bold, free, and envelops the viewer into an emotive performance between two lovers, highly contrasting to the previous performance.

Time Spell, the third performance is even more starkly different from the previous two, and perhaps the most unique of the whole production. We are transported between ballet, contemporary, tap and jazz, where sometimes the dance style juxtaposes the music playing and sometimes it doesn’t. The performance becomes intricately layered as the two musicians on stage use loop pedals to create its musical script live. Acapella gospel sounds in the music compliment the tap and jazz themes, while electronic beats give the ballet and contemporary elements a solid foundation. With every added layer in the music the dance becomes more dramatic, ending with a hugely dynamic full-cast group choreography. The manner in which this performance interweaves so many different elements is truly impressive and demonstrates the skill and creative talent of the project at large.

Drawing from this gripping energy, the last performance, entitled The Barre Project, Black Works II, is delineated by hard electronic beats. Dancers take turns to run onto the stage, perform their solo, and run off. The choreography is smart to take classical ballet movements and infuse them with an energetic, quick and dramatic rigidity that complements the cold electronic soundtrack. The choreography is certainly entertaining and works to display the dancers’ individual talents.

The ending to the fourth dance is perfect to bring the viewer back to their seats – the music ends and the dancers continue for a few bars before they stop in an elegant pose together as the viewer is offered space to absorb the last hour and a half of events.

Image credit: Time Spell – Christopher Duggan

Review by Michela Giachino

Since studying History of Art at The University of Oxford Michela has continued to pursue her interests in art and culture. She particularly enjoys considering how contemporary and historical art forms are presented to the wider public through exhibitions and viewings at art institutions. Michela’s favourite mediums include photography, film, painting and drawing, and she is always excited to learn about new art.

Read Michela’s latest review here Review: Action, Gesture, Paint -‘Women artists? Where do they fit? – A close look at the Whitechapel Gallery’s current exhibition’ – until 7 May (abundantart.net)

Footnote:

Award-winning New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck presents the European premiere of Turn It Out with Tiler Peck & Friends at Sadler’s Wells. 

With her personal touches on the evening, Peck has assembled many of today’s most exciting dance artists for an innovative programme.

Thousandth Orange choreographed by Peck is set to live music by Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw.

Swift Arrow by award-winning choreographer Alonzo King is a pas de deux featuring Peck and Roman Mejia with music composed by Jason Moran.

Time Spell is a collaboration between Peck and world class tap dancer Michelle Dorrance alongside Jillian Meyers, featuring a mix of ballet and tap with vocal accompaniment.

The programme closes with The Barre Project, Blake Works II, which marked the first creative partnership between Peck and acclaimed choreographer William Forsythe. Originally created for film and hosted online by Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage, it was produced by CLI Studios with music by James Blake and is now performed live.

Featuring performances by:
India Bradley, Michelle Dorrance, Jovani Furlan, Christopher Grant, Lex Ishimoto, Lauren Lovette, Brooklyn Mack, Aaron Marcellus, Roman Mejia, Jillian Meyers, Mira Nadon, Tiler Peck, K.J. Takahashi, Byron Tittle, and Penelope Wendtlandt.

Entertaining and emotive: the National Theatre hosts Standing at the Sky’s Edge, a musical spanning 60 turbulent years of British history. Directed by Robert Hastie, the production has won a plethora of awards including Best Musical Production at the UK Theatre Awards and 2020 South Bank SKy Arts Award for Theatre.

Standing at the Sky’s Edge charts the political upheaval and social unrest experienced by residents of the Park Hill estate from the 1960’s to the present day. The production jumps between timelines, focussing on three main characters each navigating their own obstacles. We witness the devastating effects of the steel industry crisis, years of governmental neglect and the impact of gentrification on the community. However, one common strand runs throughout the production – what it means to call a place home.

The production is set to beautifully crafted music by legendary Sheffield singer-songwriter Richard Hawley (Pulp, Longpigs). Hawley perfectly captures the promise, hope and struggles of residents of the Park Hill Estate. An extensive and talented cast deliver the songs with passion and energy – often making the show feel more like a concert than a musical.

The brutalist architecture of the National Theatre serves as the perfect venue for this production, with faultless set design by Ben Stones. Most prominently, a large neon graffiti stating “I love you will u marry me” hangs above the audience. We are told the neon was made in response to a piece of graffiti from one of the original residents, which was removed when the housing estate was re-developed. It serves as a powerful reminder of gentrification, as a once iconic graffiti becomes an ‘artwork’.

Despite the challenges and obstacles faced by the characters, Standing at the Sky’s Edge ultimately conveys a sense of hope, even in the darkest moments. This award winning production is a striking reminder of the power of community. 

Image: (c) Johan Persson

Review by Amy Melling

Amy is a Curator and Creative Producer whose practice is centred around community-led arts projects. Her current research is focused on curatorial methods for exhibiting artworks outside. Amy has a keen interest in the arts and recently completed an MA in Curating and Collections at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL.

Read Amy’s latest review here Review: Graceland – ‘Intense, emotive, funny’- Royal Court Theatre, until 11 March – Abundant Art

Footnote:

Music and lyrics by Richard Hawley. Book by Chris Bush.
A co-production with Sheffield Theatres in association with Various Productions

Standing at the Sky’s Edge is currently running at the Olivier Theatre, National Theatre London. Tickets and further information are available here. 

Beyond the Streets, now on display across all three floors at the Saatchi Gallery, is a vibrant exhibition, featuring the works of over 100 contemporary street artists, street art history, fashion, and immersive installations. This exhibition pays homage to monumental moments from the worlds of graffiti, street art, fashion, hip-hop, punk and rock and to the artists who have eternalised them, creating a revolutionary culture within the public sphere.

Graffiti is an art which is seen everywhere, it is rebellious in its nature, and is seen as a powerful form of art. Street art originated in ‘underground cultures’ like hip-hop, rhythm and blues, and the garage scene, and is heavily linked to urban cultures. In this comprehensive, exciting exhibition, each room is unique and displays various styles of street art, whilst commemorating pivotal moments in history which have led to shifts in culture, influencing art, fashion and the media. One of my favourite displays is from the works of Jamie Reid, a British artist and political activist, who co-founded the radical political magazine ‘Suburban Press’ in the 1970s. He is famously known for designing albums for the British punk-rock band, the Sex Pistols. The imagery he developed was revolutionary for the time as it broke barriers, famously with his ‘God save the Queen’ artwork. It is now a recognised, defining image in Britain.

As well as displaying iconic artwork such as this, the exhibition displays the works of artists we may not have heard of but have influenced the street art scene tremendously. Curated by graffiti historian, Roger Gatsman, Beyond the Streets is a visual masterpiece which highlights the impact of the everyday art around us. Alongside the brightly coloured walls of work, the exhibition has constructed record shops, a Ralph Lauren boutique store and Kenny Scharf’s Day-Glo room – all of which maximise the experience. On the opening day of the exhibition, Kenny Scharf took to the walls of the Saatchi Gallery and live painted one of his iconic images which you can see just outside of the room. It was truly brilliant to watch!

This exhibition is one which you must see before it’s gone. Each room displays a variety of art styles, which is bound to draw in people across all sections of society. The entire gallery has been transformed by the artists, quite unlike any other exhibition I have been to. It is a tribute to historic shifts in music, fashion and culture from the 60s onwards, and also to modern styles of art and culture. Supported by Adidas, across the gallery we also see a collection of streetwear and sneakers. I must also give a special mention to the work of HUSKMITNAVN, an anonymous graffiti artist known particularly for his colourful, retro-bubble characters. I found his distinct style of art captivating. I am sure that each person will discover a new artist who will captivate them in the same way. You can get entirely lost in this exhibition as there is a great deal to take in. On display until 9 May 2023, I would highly recommend paying a visit!

Review by Ridha Sheikh

Ridha is a volunteer writer for Abundant Art. She is a recent History and Politics graduate from Queen Mary – University of London. Ridha is excited to explore and share her strong passion for London’s art scene.

Read Ridha’s latest review here Presenting LexTempus – VLT-001 “The Greats” at Aures London – Celebrating 35 years of Black History Month in October-Review – Abundant Art

Footnote:

Tickets and information: https://www.saatchigallery.com/exhibition/beyond_the_streets_london

BEYOND THE STREETS LONDON at Saatchi Gallery, London open 17 February – 9 May 2023. Tickets from £15. The exhibition headline supporter is adidas Originals. Support also provided by LA Tourism Boards and onefinestay.

Photo:
Saatchi Gallery London, presents BEYOND THE STREETS LONDON, 17 February – 9 May with headline supporter adidas
Originals (c) Matt Chung

Graceland sees Sabrina Wu expertly deliver an unfaltering 75-minute monologue at the Royal Court Theatre. 

Wu plays Nina, a young woman who shares her story almost directly to the audience. From her upbringing in her parents’ Chinese restaurant, to her experiences of friendship, love and abuse – we witness how one informs the other. Ava Wong Davies’ script alternates perfectly between the past and present, combining intimate moments of self-reflection with outbursts of frustration, as if Nina is conversing directly with her boyfriend. 

The crux of the story centres on a relationship Nina has recently left. Firstly, it seems like the perfect love story – their eyes meet across a garden at a friend’s barbecue, ketchup running down her chin – the encounter is awkward yet romantic. However, as abusive behaviours slowly seep in, things quickly fall apart. Nina reflects on the relationship and considers: perhaps the behaviours were always there, perhaps she just didn’t want to see it. The story explores important points around recognising emotional abuse and the lasting effects it has on those involved. 

Mydd Pharo’s set design compliments Wong Davies’ script and Wu’s performance perfectly – a minimal stage sits between two mounds of dirt. The stage simply contains an unmade bed, which Nina returns to regularly. Pharo places Nina directly in the trenches where she often, quite literally, battles her emotions – clenching mud in her hands, kicking and throwing it across the stage, pacing footprints as she moves. The lighting here is dramatic, yet intimate – superbly navigated by Jai Morjaria. 

Graceland asks interesting and urgent questions about love and abuse. Wu’s performance is captivating and the set design and lighting are impressive. The play’s exploration of the infiltration of abuse into seemingly ‘normal’ relationships is timely and sure to resonate with audiences.

Image: Graceland-Credit-Ali Wright

Review by Amy Melling 

Amy is a Curator and Creative Producer whose practice is centred around community-led arts projects. Her current research is focused on curatorial methods for exhibiting artworks outside. Amy has a keen interest in the arts and recently completed an MA in Curating and Collections at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL.

Read Amy’s latest review here Review: Peter Doig-The Morgan Stanley Exhibition at Courtauld Gallery until 29 May (abundantart.net)

Footnote:

Ava Wong Davies’s new play is directed by Anna Himali Howard with Izzy Rabey and was developed as part of an Introduction to Playwriting group at the Royal Court. Winner of the 2022 Ambassador Theatre Group Playwright’s Prize in association with Platform Presents. Graceland is a co-production with SISTER.

Tickets and further information is available here.

‘Akedah’ by Michael John O’Neill, Directed by Lucy Morrison

At once fascinating, amusing and mesmerising, Akedah balances weighty topics, sharp humour and intense character studies to create an absorbing psychological drama dealing with trauma and healing. Through the identities of two estranged sisters and the event of their unexpected and fraught reunion, themes from evangelical Christianity to childhood abuse are explored. This dark story flows without dragging and effortlessly draws you in as multiple layers are peeled away and years of suppressed emotion and complex history come to a head.

The absolutely remarkable Amy Molloy plays the live wire that is Gill, Kelly’s older (by 15 years) sister, who has acted as surrogate parent to Kelly as the two grew up in care with a coercive father and a mother who was an addict. Gill makes an unexpected visit home to the north coast of Northern Ireland after three years having not seen Kelly – who she seems to both loathe and adore in equal measure. Gill is shocked to find that eighteen year-old Kelly is unrecognisably changed, now part of the expanding Christian community, Harvest. This church community train their volunteers in ‘a verified therapeutic process’ in ‘seven modules’ (‘a certificate in talking shite’ as Gill sees it) and baptise their members in the wild sea on their doorstep – a poignant motif representing chaos to Gill but a symbol of God’s majesty for Kelly.

Layers of trauma and a lifetime of neglect have left Gill quivering at the prospect of another human’s touch, and terrified by noises and voices intruding in on her reclusive world – an isolated world maintained by a job as a cleaner in a huge office , ‘miles away from anywhere’. Kelly is equally dealing with trauma, but, at least on the surface level, she has found solace and a new sense of purpose in the church to propel her away from her painful childhood and towards a new life, or the promise of one.

Kelly, played by Ruby Campbell, provides a brilliantly desperate performance as she acts as the pivot about which Gill wildly spins. Whilst Kelly calms Gill down, she also unintentionally winds Gill up and pushes her limits. Tempting Gill with the promise of healing becomes Kelly’s obsession, and this obsession isn’t tempered until the excellent Mairead McKinley enters as Sarah, the sisters’ mother – a quietly composed but wounded woman, desperate to make peace with her daughter, Gill.

In their race to be healed, both sisters disagree on the other’s chosen means of surviving and dealing with their past, whilst taunting and tantalising each other in an attempt to coax the other back into their familiar world. Suddenly, the two do not share the same language or sense of identity anymore, and the play works well where it finds humour in the clash between Kelly’s new, self-aggrandizing Christian jargon and Gill’s down to earth mocking in response.

At its heart, this play explores Gill’s agony, as her only ally in the world seems to have become unrecognisable on her return home – their footing as sisters has disappeared as Kelly now lives in an alternative universe to Gill, with a new family and a new “home”.

The tone of psychological intensity, drama and unsettling obscurity is set from the beginning, as Gill’s opening moments take place behind translucent grey curtains. Paranoia shapes every word that passes through Gill’s mouth, and the soundscape cleverly mimics this fear by escalating the noise of Kelly’s pinging phone throughout the production – also a symbol for coercive control. When Gill is alone, this noise becomes unbearable and creates a visceral atmosphere of panic.

I am still thinking about the conviction and energy that Amy Molloy brings to the character of Gill, and how quickly she jumps from humorous to acutely distressed, and from a recoiling and defensive individual to an eccentric and expressive entertainer. Abrupt mood oscillations from Gill, as she swings like a pendulum from being propelled by fear to love, triggers each new wave of action and development in the sisters’ conversations, and ultimately drives the play forward. The sparse and grey set, with plastic stacking chairs and one plant, is reminiscent of an institutional setting or a liminal space like a waiting room, which chimes well with the theme of poor mental health and different types of constraint.

Hampstead Downstairs theatre specialises in new writing and definitely feels like a contemporary, fresh and exciting place, both conceptually and physically. The space is adapted for each new play and Akedah works effectively with the stage in the middle surrounded on two sides by tiered seating. This set-up creates an intense and intimate feel since the stage is surrounded by a small audience who are both close to the action and slightly elevated above it, whilst also facing each other like a mirror view – an interesting element for such an intensely psychological play. Akedah’s playwright, Michael John O’Neill, won the Bruntwood Prize Original New Voice Award in 2019; this is the premiere of his first full-length play, Akedah, and it’s not one to miss.

Image: Ruby Campbell and Amy Molloy in Akedah, credit Helen Murray.

Tickets: https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/2023/akedah/

Review by Lucy Evans 

Lucy’s passion for the arts began with drawing and painting at a young age and developed later on into a love of landscape painting and a degree in Art History, with a focus on Modernism and gender. Lucy has grown to love literature and acting in particular, and her experiences acting at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival have been formative, convincing her that performance can be an essential tool for communication and connection, as well as of course being a valuable source of entertainment.

Lucy’s latest review here Review: Linck & Mülhahn – Queer historical romance fizzles out after a gloriously fun first half, Hampstead Theatre until 4 March – Abundant Art

Footnote:

Lucy Morrison returns to Hampstead after The Animal Kingdom. An Associate Director at the Royal Court, her credits include This Is Not Who I Am, Scenes with girls and The Woods (Royal Court) and Little on the Inside (Almeida).

Large scale paintings; textured, vibrant and full of life. The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Peter Doig, which recently opened at Courtauld Gallery, shows a small collection of works by the esteemed painter. 

The show is a reflection of Doig’s transition from his life in Trinidad, where he lived for 20 years, to London, where he has recently opened a studio. The exhibition presents paintings made in both locations, some of which were even started in Trinidad and reworked and completed in London. As such, the works are a glorious mix of nostalgia, memory, longing and melancholia. 

The exhibition showcases Doig’s distinctive style – figurative, substantial, with lots of texture and markings. Some of the works feel almost as if they are still in progress. Doig often paints from photographs, yet still allowing memory and imagination to influence his scenes. Of his paintings he says ‘I never try to create real spaces – only painted spaces’. However, the works feel very real – there is a sadness to them, the sense of a lost moment.

One work that stands out in the exhibition is Canal (2023), a scene depicting a young boy at the side of Regent’s Canal: fried eggs sit on a plate on the table and a boat glides by as dark skies loom over head. The exhibition literature reveals that this painting originated as a birthday card made for the artist’s son, reformed and enlarged up to it’s current state. Here, we see further examples of the artist’s inspiration and process.  

Peter Doig at the Courtauld Gallery is a must-see for anyone interested in contemporary figurative painting. The only downside being it’s scale – just two small rooms. A more comprehensive exhibition would allow audiences to fully immerse themselves in Doig’s unique practice. Despite this, the exhibition is a fascinating insight into the artist’s life – a beautiful reflection of change, place and reminiscence.

Peter Doig at Courtauld Gallery is sponsored by Morgan Stanley and supported by Kenneth C. Griffin, the Huo Family Foundation and the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne. The exhibition is showing until 29th May, more information and tickets are available here.

Review by Amy Melling 

Amy is a Curator and Creative Producer whose practice is centred around community-led arts projects. Her current research is focused on curatorial methods for exhibiting artworks outside. Amy has a keen interest in the arts and recently completed an MA in Curating and Collections at Chelsea College of Arts, UAL.

Read Amy’s latest review here Review: My Neighbour Totoro, Barbican Theatre-Magical, endearing, exciting (abundantart.net)