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‘Fantasies on a Found Phone Dedicated to the Man Who Lost It’: A Dreamy, Meandering Evocation of Modern Living, 22 June-25 Sept 2022

A lost phone, left unlocked in a public bathroom, becomes the basis of Mahmoud Khaled’s first solo exhibition in the U.K. The texts and images stored on this iPhone paint an enigmatic dreamscape, moving between the mundane and the intimate, the erotic and the isolated. Screenshots evoke the banality of endless scrolling and swiping; and yet the presence of mindfulness apps aimed at insomniacs constitutes a cry for respite from a fast-paced, digitized world. The sheer volume of unfiltered information retained by this mobile device symptomizes the endless consumption of media intrinsic to modern life; whilst notes of dissonance – sleeplessness, anxiety, isolation – suggest that the contemporary world manifests perennial forms of human suffering in manners new.

The exhibition itself is an immersive experience that has The Mosaic Rooms transformed into an imaginary home for an imaginary stranger. The period architecture and décor of the gallery are subversively infused with modern references to queerness and social media. Khaled plays with the antique grandeur of the gallery space, once an upper-middle class family home, by injecting it with notes of dissonance. One room takes a day-bed – a symbol of leisure and luxury – but upon recognition of the distorted, disproportionate size of the sofa, any sense of ease is undermined. Leather straps recall sexuality; and whilst the mindfulness track played on speaker is initially calming, the endless looping of the audio suggests that serenity is never achieved. The downstairs room, dominated by a bizarrely circular bed, is windowless, dark and claustrophobic; this, too, is no place of rest. Close inspection of the wall-paper reveals the presence of a desktop ‘loading’ icon in the corner of the repeated motif. Despite references to sexuality, the anonymity of the exhibition’s central figure, and the absence of any reference to friends or lovers, makes the whole space seem oddly isolated, even fragmented. This is a complex emotional landscape that leaves the visitor strangely uneasy.

The exhibition gestures to a host of cultural traditions without necessarily articulating a defined critical position. The form of the installation recalls the house-museum, in which a famous person’s home is turned into a public space; yet our protagonist is a stranger, and a fictional stranger at that. The sofa-beds and leather straps refer to Freud, a sensibility compounded by the dialogue between dream and reality evoked by the space. Moving through each room, one definitely has the feeling that there are many layers of this exhibition to uncover.

The flipside of the coin is that the highly conceptual nature of Khaled’s work does make it somewhat inaccessible. Without foreknowledge of certain cultural traditions and intellectual histories, it would be easy to miss the probing questions that the exhibition gently raises. It took me a while to understand how the fiction of the lost phone related to the gallery-space; and if I hadn’t shared a conversation with the curator, I’m not sure that I would have picked up on the notes of dissonance imbued within each room. Although a brief explanatory guide does excavate some of Khaled’s ideas, I still found that the exhibition verges on nebulous. Perhaps it is a personal preference for clarity that for me clashed with the meandering nature of this work, but I do wonder if other visitors would also have benefitted from a little more transparency. As it stands, the exhibition left a distinct impression on me, but few of my thoughts crystallized into lucid expression; perhaps, however, that was Khaled’s intention.

The exhibition is on until 25 September 2022 at The Mosai Rooms Open 11am – 6pm | Tuesday – Sunday | Free Entry  http://www.mosaicrooms.org/

Reviewed by Sophia Sheera – Sophia is a writer interested in migration, cultural citizenship, displacement and queerness with a focus on Central Asia and Northern India. Sophia is inspired by talking to the people whose stories are sidetracked by sensationalist headlines, and as such aspires to share those counter-narratives through political journalism.

 

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ – but with a twist! 29 June -13 Aug, St.Paul’s Covent Garden

As part of their outdoor summer festival 2022, Iris theatre presents Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”,  an adaptation with a twist by Sara Aniqah Malik!

Drinks in hand, the audience is jolted from their pre-show mingling by a loud voice. Heads turn – it’s Puck, but with paint spotted all over her skirt. We are introduced to the twist: Athens is now a high school in the 90s, with cliques, cheerleaders and goths. A colourful array of characters enter – Snout, Bottom and Starveling, except they’re in glee club. The audience, now intrigued, follows Puck around the  church to a beautiful outdoor stage by the entrance. The rest of the characters are introduced, each one bringing a wave of laughter as their role in Athens Academy is revealed.

The story unravels as the audience is drawn from location to location – inside the church, in the garden, and back to the initial stage – while accompanied by a sense of nostalgia brought by 90s pop songs. Just outside the entrance to the church, we are introduced to Hermia and Lysander: two teenagers in love, plagued by Hermia’s promise to accompany Demetrius to the prom. As the evening progresses, Oberon and Titania emerge and we witness Oberon confess his love for Titania by serenading her with his old-school stereo. Plans are put in place by the characters: Hermia and Lysander steal away from campus, and Puck will bewitch Titania. In shimmering lights and loud music, the audience watches as drama unfolds at the Athens Academy prom.

In the forest ‘beyond the bleachers’ (a short walk from the church to the garden),  the lovers run around in delicate dresses and stylish suits while the glee club searches for a place to rehearse for regionals. Desperate Helena vies for Demetrius’ attention, who is distraught at the disappearance of Hermia and Lysander. Laughter is once again echoed throughout the audience while turmoil ensues as the lovers find themselves entangled in each others’ relationships. The play ends in the church, at regionals, where the glee club performs a hilarious presentation of Pyramus and Thisbe.

The cast put on an expressive and engaging performance. Every word spoken by the actors convince the audience of their emotions. Each scene is played with strength and conviction,  building  up to a hilarious finale that send the audience home with cheers and smiles. With everything from theatre geeks to cheerleaders, Sara Aniqah Malik’s adaptation brings a humorous perspective to one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. It keeps the genre relevant today, especially to a younger audience. Few weeks ago we interviewed Zena Carswell who plays Helena, where she told us “audiences will appreciate the slight twist on the original”. Read Carswell’ interview here Interview with Zena Carswell, A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Iris Theatre – Abundant Art

Photo Credit: Katie Edwards

Box Office:https://iristheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows

Reviewed by Aishani Chatterjee- Aishani is a Year 10 student at Latymer School and is learning Classical Ballet and Indian Classical dance Kathak. Her love for dance and her interest in media studies and performing arts draws her into watching performances, learning from a varied range of presentations and writing about them.

Stewart Lee: Snowflake/Tornado at Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, 29 June-3 July 2022

Extended monologues, audience shaming and ample self-loathing: The Times’ best living stand-up, Stewart Lee is back with his rescheduled show Snowflake/Tornado. 

The show is a double bill of two, new, sixty-minute sets – weirdly, delivered in the opposite order to the title. Tornado is centered around Netflix incorrectly attributing the synopsis of Sharknado to Lee’s series Comedy Vehicle. The first half is funny and well paced, it sees bits on mainstream comedians who haven’t had their comedy special synopses tampered with – Ricky Gervais and Jimmy Carr both, fairly, fall victim. Lee also talks at length about rotisserie chickens and ends the set with a ropey impression of Alan Bennett reading allowed from a Bennett-fied Sharknado – brilliant.    

The second half is equally as layered, sharp and silly. Snowflake focuses on the absurdity of wokeness and despite its ubiquity, the fact is, it still has little effect on the content we’re shown. In this part we return to the Netflix synopsis of Ricky Gervais’ latest comedy output, which states ‘Gervais says the unsayable’. For several minutes, Lee performs an almost-silent, drawn out impression of Gervais attempting to say words, getting increasingly more ridiculous and causing the audience to cry with laughter. Lee defends wokeness with a heavy dose of ridicule and plenty of self-awareness, ruminating that ultimately it has made no difference as the two best-selling comedians (Gervais and Carr) are still paid to make unnecessarily controversial shows. On a lighter note, we also hear about Lee’s nan’s confusion between ‘political correctness’ and ‘health and safety’ and her frustration at not being allowed to eat soup wherever she wants. 

In Snowflake/Tornado, like all of Lee’s shows, jokes wind together and segway seamlessly with earlier references often slipping back into the monologue just as you forget about them. Snowflake/Tornado sees heaps of new material whilst still featuring Lee’s calling cards; repetition, in-jokes and plenty of audience berating. On multiple occasions, Lee stops the audience to critique their reactions and explain why the joke we missed was funny. However, in a change to normal proceedings, the show ends with a tender moment, as Lee very genuinely thanks the audience for attending the show. A heartwarming moment acknowledging the lack of stand-up shows over the last two years and all that came with it.

A recording of Snowflake/Tornado will be coming to the BBC later this year, details to be confirmed. Throughout August, Stewart Lee will be performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with his next tour beginning in September. Further details are available here.

Image Credit: Tristram Kenton

Reviewed 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.

‘Fantasies on a Found Phone Dedicated to the Man Who Lost It’: A Dreamy, Meandering Evocation of Modern Living

‘Fantasies on a Found Phone Dedicated to the Man Who Lost It’ is Egyptian artist Mahmoud Khaled’s first solo exhibition in the U.K. The ornate space that comprises The Mosaic Rooms, a non-profit gallery dedicated to promoting art from the Arab world, is the chosen host for this multi-disciplinary, audio-visual project. The period architecture of this gallery in Kensington, which to this day gestures to the building’s previous life as the home of a wealthy family, becomes a springboard for a series of interventions and subversions that have us question what sorts of stories are memorialized by the culture industries.

The premise is this: an unlocked iPhone is lost in the bathroom of a gay club. Through exploring the photographs stored on the phone and various other pieces of media – screenshots, thoughts penned on the Notes app – Khaled is able to conjure an intimate sense of this iPhone’s owner. A small booklet available in the gallery bookshop presents a compilation of the photographs and screenshots from this forgotten mobile device, producing an archive of images that do indeed conjure the identity and character of its once-owner. From these fragments, Khaled transforms the Mosaic Rooms into a fantastical home catered for the man whose iPhone he has found.

Khaled’s creation of a dwelling place for an anonymous figure in a gallery space engages in a discourse with other personal spaces that are transformed into public places. Namely, Khaled plays with the trope of the house museum, in which a famous figure’s home is turned into a museum, the assumption being that the public is able to glean a sense of the figure’s mentioned private life by entering her once-home. Famous examples include Frida Kahlo’s Blue House in Mexico and Ernest Hemingway’s home in Argentina.  Typically, original furnishings are maintained, so that we can imagine the life of the famous person more vividly and authentically; yet, of course, the house museum is curated as much as any other gallery, which suggests that the evocation of authenticity is actually quite manufactured. Playing on these tensions, Khaled’s installation takes the form of a house museum dedicated to an entirely anonymous figure: claims to authenticity are unjudgable.

Furthermore, as I found out, the iPhone and its contents are fiction, imagined by Khaled himself; so not only is this house-museum dedicated to an unknown figure but a made-up one. It’s an interesting if conceptually complicated basis for an artistic installation that probes a whole range of cultural practices.

The above analysis alone is enough to raise certain questions about why, and how, the lives of certain people are memorialized, venerated and even covertly fictionalized. However, Khaled takes his theatrical exploration of public veneration even further by injecting his pseudo-house-museum with a variety of contemporary themes. (Queer) sexual desire, modern technologies and anxiety tacitly permeate this space. At first glance, for example, the wallpaper in the first room suggests dating to the Victorian period; but upon closer investigation, the pattern repeated by the wallpaper alludes to homosexual intercourse, and in the corner of the motif is a cursor symbol that crops up on computer interfaces when information is being loaded. Then there’s a large, framed picture of an unmade bed with the words ‘I can’t sleep without you’ scribbled across it. Tradition is injected with (sometimes invasive) modern technologies, and homeliness is undermined by a pervasive sense of unrest. Desire – and in fact, homosexual desire – is at the forefront of this intimate space, a theme deliberately and notably avoided in traditional house-museums.

This vague sense of unease continues throughout the exhibition. In the second room, the windows are draped in luxurious velvet curtains and the only piece of furniture is a long daybed. Yet the evocation of leisure associated with such glamour and excess is undermined by a certain eerie quality, due in part to the disproportionate proportions of the bed and the leather bondage straps in which it is swathed. Overhead speakers play a mindfulness track aimed at helping insomniacs to sleep; yet it loops over and over, suggesting that no respite from sleeplessness is ever found. Similarly, in the room downstairs is a huge circular bed, also replete with leather straps, which takes centre stage in an otherwise dark and empty room. Once again, the comfort of sleep is sullied by hints that rest is rarely realized (for this bed looks hardly slept in); and whilst the straps evoke sexual play, there is no suggestion that this bed is often shared.

There are clearly many layers of analysis to derive from Khaled’s installation. I was taken aback by Khaled’s quiet evocation of just how intertwined technology and modern living have become. Not only, on a conceptual level, is Khaled’s fantasy couched in the idea that a person’s intimate experiences can be surmised from the media stored on their phone; but also, the exhibition highlights how even the most restful of spaces – the bedroom, the living-room – have come to incorporate modern technologies. It is perhaps no coincidence that in such an environment, our fictional insomniac cannot sleep.

I’m slightly frustrated by the idea that there are further layers of Khaled’s vision that I didn’t uncover. Whilst I liked that the installation rouses thoughtful contemplation by juxtaposing tradition with modernity, and familiarity with restlessness, I did find that the highly conceptual nature of Khaled’s work makes it somewhat inaccessible. The risk is that some of the ideas carefully gestured towards by the artist and curator are missed by the lay audience. It took me a good while to wrap my head around the backstory of the exhibition and then the nuanced tonalities of each room. I do wonder if the installation would have benefitted from a little more explanation, or perhaps interactive components that might catalyze viewer engagement.

My other piece of critique regards the venue itself. Given Khaled’s intention to play with the house-museum trope, I wonder whether a reference to this particular paradigm would better befit a gallery with more rooms. Although each of the three rooms clearly referenced domestic spaces, I wouldn’t have understood that the exhibition constitutes a deliberate negotiation with the house-museum tradition had the curator not explained it to me. I would love to know why Khaled chose to play with the house-museum tradition in order to dramatize his chosen themes, and moreover, why he finds those themes to be important and worth exploring.

Perhaps it is my impatience and preference for a directness that is at odds with the meandering nature of this installation, and the dreamy looseness of the thoughts that it provokes. The exhibition asks its viewers to feel as much as think, to mull over the contrasting emotions that it evokes, to ruminate and to let sensibilities gently marinade.

Although this isn’t an approach to analysing art that comes easily to me, I walked away with plenty of food for thought; and even if not all of the feelings and thoughts that the exhibition evoked led to lucid crystallization, Khaled’s work certainly left a distinct and deliciously jarring impression.

Photography: Andy Stagg

Sophia Sheera is a writer interested in migration, cultural citizenship, displacement and queerness with a focus on Central Asia and Northern India. Sophia is inspired by talking to the people whose stories are sidetracked by sensationalist headlines, and as such aspires to share those counter-narratives through political journalism.

Frédéric Gassita – African Jazz at Barbican,19th June-Review

Although the Bantu Jazz Orchestra was only assembled in 2017, Gabon’s Frédéric Gassita has been making music for over three decades. He was the third (ever!) African student accepted at Berklee College of Music, in Boston, in 1988, and is the president of the African Music Institute in Gabon’s capital, Libreville. But that’s nothing 30 seconds skimming Wikipedia won’t tell you. For the sports fans out there, he’s instantly recognisable as the founder and president of Gabon’s best football club, Akanda FC. He also used to be their striker, and was apparently the Gabonese league’s top scorer, once upon a time.

Presumably rushed off his feet, with one in the realm of sport and the other in that of music, Gassita’s performance at London’s Barbican was the Bantu Jazz Orchestra’s first ever performance outside of the African continent. Outside of this ensemble, however, he can include recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra amongst his achievements. The Bantu Jazz Orchestra is a big band, and features the Eben Voices of Gabon Choir, some guest vocalists, and a dance troupe.

There cannot be many terms as loaded and misunderstood in Europe and North America as ‘African Jazz’. Perhaps part of the complexity of this issue lies in the tension between African artists championing the unity of their musical tradition’s (a good thing) while also highlighting the vast diversity in the musical traditions of African peoples (also good). Without a doubt, on hearing the term, many will instantly think of Afrobeat, popularised by Nigeria’s Fela Kuti, and his children and influencées who followed in his rhythmic rave and loud political voice. This is why one might be surprised at the subtlety of Gassita’s music – he blends the Western Classical tradition with jazz and Gabonese harmonies and rhythms in an enticing way. Gassita’s compositions clearly demonstrate his confidence in a wide range of musical styles. One composition can feel like the soundtrack to a film that doesn’t exist, yet five minutes later the same composition can have everyone up and dancing.

One question after seeing Gassita’s orchestra is, ‘Why might one come to a show with preconceptions of what African jazz is?’ After all, blues and jazz were developed by Black performers involuntarily removed to America and indentured as slaves in the United States. African harmonies, structures, and rhythms are integral to these traditions and ultimately all popular music today. To witness and appreciate the Bantu Jazz Orchestra with a beginner’s mindset, with nothing but an appreciation and reverence for Gassita’s composition – his own interpretation of African jazz – is a great pleasure. And the glimpse we saw of his understated personality was brilliantly charming.

Reviewed 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.

RA Schools Degree Show – Review

Each year the RA Schools offer 15 early-career artists the opportunity to study on its full-time, no-fee, three-year programme. The course, as old as the Academy itself, was founded in 1769 and boasts a plethora of art-world giants in its alumni – JMW Turner, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Michael Armitage and Rebecca Ackroyd, to name but a few.

This year, however, is a little different. The graduating artists have undertaken the programme plus an additional year (2020/21) – allowing them to make up for time lost due to COVID-19. However, this lack of studio time doesn’t seem to have constrained their work as the exhibition sees a whole range of mediums including performance, photography, installation, painting and moving images.

The exhibition exists in the in-between spaces; long corridors leading to dark installations, boiler rooms filled with concrete sculptures, and empty pigeon holes used to hang canvases. Here, the graduates have reconsidered space. They are experimental, playful, and sometimes excessively conceptual – perhaps the only logical outcome of studying through two years of lockdowns?

In one of the first rooms, Luke Samuel’s minimalist paintings stretch the length of the space – they are solid but delicate. The block tones against the whitewashed wall anchor the viewer’s eye to them immediately. Conversely, Kobby Adi’s The removal of all visible and obscured plaster casts, with the promise of being returned, 2022, also catches your eye. Or perhaps that should be, doesn’t catch your eye, as the work is about the absence of these objects – the residual traces still on the wall, showing their outlines. These works are intriguing, they leave you wanting to know more. 

However, a little further on, Rebecca K. Halliwell-Sutton’s multi-media practice stops you in your tracks. Through ions and stratus i, ii, & iii, 2022 sees three aluminum sculptures projected from the walls on curved steel rods. The large 3D works seem weightless, almost like stingrays floating in water. In contrast, on the other side of the space is a small room with a padded bench containing the work Infinite Loop, 2022. Inside, a speaker plays a poem recited in a women’s soft northern accent – it is calming, like a long phone call with a relative. Halliwell-Sutton’s work often explores intergenerational connection through time, bodies and place. Here, the works are powerful, emotive, subtle. 

The RA Schools show is showing in the studios of the Royal Academy every Tues – Sun, 10am – 6pm, until 3 July 2022. It is free with no booking required.

Photo of Artist Rebecca K Halliwell Sutton’s piece by Amy Melling (see biog below)

For more info: www.royalacademy.org.uk

Reviewed 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.

 

Darkie Armo Girl at Finborough Theatre: A Rage-Fuelled Retrospective

‘Darkie Armo Girl’, a one-woman show both written and performed by Karine Bedrossian, offers an intense and intimate glimpse into the life of its creator. The play takes the form of a theatricalized memoir chronicling Karine’s life, accompanied by the retrospective analysis of the present-day Karine, who acts as our narrator. It begins by relating the recent history of Karine’s family – the Armenian genocide, her parents’ relocation to the U.K. – then chronologically excavates Karine’s development into adulthood. Karine paints a complex picture of her younger self; from the age of seven, she is already fiercely intelligent, proud, somewhat naïve, and very deeply hurt. As she grows up, she suffers multiple traumas at the hands of those around her: discriminatory school children, neglectful parents and abusive men. Despite her outspoken and glamorous façade, present-day Karine helps us to understand that our protagonist is in constant battle with a destructive urge to self-sabotage; and that despite her many friends, she feels incredibly alone.

There are plenty of themes in this real-life story that hint at wider political issues permeating contemporary society: for example, Karine’s narrative touches on racialized prejudice, the sexualization of teenage girls, and the kinds of male power abuses that are institutionalised within the entertainment industry. Karine’s story, in fact, could be a case study of intersectional oppression, exemplifying the complex and varied experiences that a woman of colour in the entertainment world grows to expect. However, Karine’s piece is not explicitly political; although her narrative gestures to the ongoing exploitation of marginalised women, the play is often couched in this one personal story.

For someone like Karine, who has suffered such dislocation and disempowerment at the hands of the institutionally powerful, the act of writing and staging a show that illustrates her own side of the story is potent. This isn’t the sort of story often prioritized by mainstream theatre. ‘Darkie Armo Girl’ is the form through which Karine chooses to reclaim her narrative by recalling the events that have shaped her life in the language that she chooses. This is a woman who refuses to be silenced; instead, she uses her myriad talents in the performing arts to tell her story, strikingly solo, on an intimately small stage.

There were a few artistic choices made by Karine and her team that I didn’t quite agree with; I thought that her allusions to specific triggering topics were sometimes blasé and require greater sensitivity. I believe, too, that Karine slipped into self-victimization at times, without interrogating the privileges that she does enjoy. Regardless, it was clear that for Karine, relating her personal memoir through the medium of theatre provided a therapeutic intervention through which she was able to reassert stolen agency; and none of my criticisms can undermine this. In choosing the stage, she allows – indeed, compels – a live audience to witness her survival; so that, together, audience and actor emerge stronger and wiser at the play’s end.

Ticket info: finboroughtheatre.co.uk

Karine Bedrossian: Photo credit Stuart Ray

Sophia Sheera is a writer interested in migration, cultural citizenship, displacement and queerness with a focus on Central Asia and Northern India. Sophia is inspired by talking to the people whose stories are sidetracked by sensationalist headlines, and as such aspires to share those counter-narratives through political journalism.

Deliluh, Live at Moth Club – Gig Review

During the most isolating periods of the pandemic, bands reacted in different ways. Some bands collaborated via Zoom, or lived and worked, even recorded together in isolation. Toronto’s Deliluh, until this point in time a four-piece, suddenly became a duo. Bassist Erik Jude and drummer Erika Wharton-Shukster parted ways with the band, leaving Julius Pederson and vocalist Kyle Knapp with all the instrumental duties. The pair have spent much of this time in Europe.

Although Deliluh has done a lot of touring in the last year – including slots supporting Squid on their North American tour and Black Country, New Road – this headline tour of the UK, France, and the Netherlands is the first run to support the release of their new album, Fault Lines. Before the pandemic, the four-piece were a kind of post-rock, post-punk hybrid. Clean, drop-tuned guitars slugged under Knapp’s vocals. The records, for all their left-fieldness, sounded live.

I never saw Deliluh live before the pandemic, but at Hackney’s Moth Club, the inverse effect is observed. All the sounds are made live: distorted lap steel guitars, layered synthesisers, distant saxophones. But the overall product is as if a studio has been completely set up on stage – if you had told me that Erik and Erika left the band to make more room for equipment, I would almost believe it. The precision with which Knapp and Pederson meticulously recreate the sounds of Fault Lines is truly remarkable. And the duo’s fluency in dynamic control differentiated them from most live shows (i.e. compression on, volume up). Sometimes a whole song would be quiet and sparse, such as ‘X-Neighbourhood’, tensely pedalled by nothing but Knapp’s vocals and a repeating synth note, punctured occasionally by contrasting moments of thoughtful harmonic movement. Knapp’s saxophone solo at the end slotted into the spacey ether in an extremely satisfying way.

The irony of describing it as studio-esque is that on stage, Knapp cannot sing and play the saxophone at the same time. But at no point on the record do they co-occur either. While the form of Deliluh has shifted from ‘band’ to perhaps ‘project’, and their sound is more avant-garde than rock, the impression is still that they work within the new constraints of two people, rather than against them. What they may want to consider, however, is variation. At moments of intense performance meditation my attention drifted off towards the thought of work on Monday. Nevertheless, the pandemic story of Deliluh has been more curious than most. It’s hard to say what direction they will take next; we can be certain, though, that it will be interesting.

Photo credit: Tin Angel records

Cian Kinsella 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.

From the Forest: a Look into Natural Materials and the Climate Crisis – V&A Furniture Gallery Review

Living in London, or any major city can feel like a disconnect in relation to our interactions with nature. Wrapped up in our own lives we become oblivious to the materials which make up the world around us and their impact on the planet. Before industrialization, our choices around furniture were not only utilitarian and stylistic but seeped into the history of where we came from. Local forests providing the wood in which homes were built create a much deeper connection and awareness to our surrounding natural world. Today, there is a gap between the consumer and the raw material. Until July 18th, ‘From the Forest’ is on display at the V&A’s furniture gallery questioning this phenomenon of the modern world and asking us what can the forest teach us?

Located at the very top of the Victoria and Albert Museum the furniture gallery is a grand hallway that takes you on a journey through time via the art of chairs. We often don’t think about where we place our bums, but furniture design is an informative visual timeline of design throughout history. Placed at the entrance of the hall is the ‘From the Forest’ installation, surrounded by various styles of furniture spanning from ornate gilded Baroque to simple and sleek Bauhaus. The display focused on various works touching upon themes of the consequences of the use of natural materials on the environment and where these materials come from. Works such as Marjan van Aubel and James Shaw’s “Well Proven Chair” highlight the amount of waste the timber industry creates. Using wood shavings and chips left over, they bonded the materials with bio-resin to create a new piece of furniture. As described by the artists, “This chair derives its brutal and anarchic appearance from an ethos of resourcefulness.”

From the Forest not only celebrates the innovations of designers striving for sustainability but also serves as a reminder to appreciate nature and all it has to offer us. A piece that sticks out to me is ‘009 Bowls’ by Mac Collins. He created bowls from pine, an overlooked species of wood that is considered to be less desirable. Crafting these pieces proves how meaningless our valuing system is. The work highlights the beautiful colour of pine and its ability to become a high-quality product despite its poor reputation. Who are we to decide, as mere guests on this planet, that natural material is inferior?

My only critique of ‘From the Forest’ is that I wish there was more. The small installation is tiny but mighty and each piece that was displayed was engaging and touched upon many facets and nuances of the climate crisis and the conversations surrounding it.

From the Forest is a free installation at the V&A until July 18th. For more info click here: https://www.vam.ac.uk

Photo taken by Mia (see biog below)

Reviewed by Mia Goodman – Mia is currently finishing up her Art Direction degree at the University of the Arts London. Coming from an Italian-American background and living in both countries allowed her to explore her interests in traveling, cooking and the arts. Her passion for sustainability has led her to explore the intersectionality between the environment and creative industries.

‘That Is Not Who I Am’ – Royal Court Theatre Review

As the house lights go down, a disclaimer is projected onto the screen on stage; the play you are about to see is not the play advertised…the true story we are about to tell is under embargo by the Home Office…the Royal Court Theatre has changed names to protect themselves.

‘That Is Not Who I Am’ begins from the moment you book a ticket – sold as a show by new playwright Dave Davidson exploring one man’s experience of online identity theft, the promotional copy reads “​​Did the real him ever exist in the first place?”. It’s not until you’re sitting in the theatre that you realise, he didn’t. In fact, Dave Davidson didn’t ever exist either. What is actually performed is ‘Rapture’, a new production written by Olivier Award-winning playwright Lucy Kirkwood. 

‘Rapture’ tells the story of Celeste and Noah Quilter (Siena Kelly and Jake Davies); an activist couple who attempt to dismantle the government. The production follows their relationship from its beginnings, a blind date where they are soon discussing chemtrails and 9/11 theories. They’re half-joking, mocking each other for being crazy. As the production progresses we see them marry, switch jobs, and have a baby – all while becoming increasingly politically active; disillusioned and distrusting. 

Naomi Dawson’s set is clever – a cross-section of the couple’s house, spun by stagehands as the actors move from room to room. Here, we see the couple in their intimate moments – the conversations behind closed doors. The writer, Lucy Kirkwood also appears as a character, played by Priyanga Burford. Burford enters the stage, with script in hand, often – recounting her research into the case; this reddit thread said…, one eye-witness saw…, before moving to one side and watching the actors continue with the scene.

‘Rapture’ will make you question everything. Cleverly, this play about conspiracy theories becomes a conspiracy theory in its own right – positioning itself just enough on the rational side to make you unsure if it’s true or not. As you leave, you’ll find yourself googling ‘the quilters’, and ‘activist couple killed by government’

However, when you find it’s not true, it’s a little disappointing – maybe it’s because the Royal Court isn’t as radical as you’d believed in those first ten minutes? Or maybe it’s when you realise we’re not really on the edge of a political revolution? That said, the production is affecting. It’s not immediate and gut-wrenching like some of the Royal Court’s previous shows, but it’s persistent and niggling. Your mind will drift back to it in the everyday – as you tap on to the tube, checkout at a self-service, or withdraw cash from an atm.

‘That Is Not Who I Am’ is running at the Royal Court Theatre until 16th July, tickets are available here

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Reviewed 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.