This Thursday catch me at the Red Bull Studios for Duplex's latests solo art exhibition.
Loving bntl like a fat kid loves cake.
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Monday, 25 June 2012
Friday, 22 June 2012
Thursday, 21 June 2012
Article 31.1 - Community Kite Project
The picture above says it all - a kid, happily flying a kite. But, it's where he's flying the kite that's pertinent.
He is running through Bishopsgate, in the heart of the City of London. As an adult you would have a hard time taking photos in certain areas within this district. Home to serious industries like banking, there's not much time for playing, unless you count gambling, and then they seem more like full time players.
Just imagine, 3 kids flying kite through the City. The security guard might let off a grin (a rarity). Now, imaging 3 grown men running through the city... Cue, sweaty thumbs on radios and frantic call to the City of London Police (the ones with the flamboyant hats). If you dare go near Liverpool Street Station you might just get shot by one of those small fuckers who over compensate with big guns!
The point is, you can do things as a child that you could only dream of as an adult. You can play and people will encourage you, they'll even smile while you do it. If you should ever chase those dreams as an adult, you will be frowned upon, called loony, locked up or killed.
If you play, you may loose your liberty. Ironic as "kite flying across the globe is synonymous with freedom, the outdoors, imagination and possibilities." - have you ever seen/read kite runner?
Community Kite Project, make kites for everyone. A mission which has seen them hold a residency at SpaceFiftyFour on Rivington Street and travel a little further to Costa Rica (see video below).
On Friday 22nd June, Community Kite Project will be exhibiting their work as part of Article 31.1 x Workshop 44. They believe "fun and imagination are precious commodities", and we agree.
Check out Community Kite Project below. Article 31.1 x Workshop 44 opens this Friday 6-9pm and runs until Sunday 24th.
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Article 31.1 - Matthew Benson
Signs like the above are ubiquitous in the city... "NO BALL GAMES", "DO NOT CLIMB ON SCAFFOLD".
Not one to be told what he can and can't do Matthew Benson has been ignoring these signs for a while now. You may have seen his pics on BNTL - the crazy shit atop tower blocks or in tunnels.
Signs that say "DO NOT ENTER" just don't run. Imagine if you was a child, and someone said "DO NOT TOUCH". I know what I would do. Presumably it is this same rebellious, playful itch that keep Matthew Benson doing what he does.
Matthew is a player, and the city is his playground.
This coming Friday presents the first chance to see Matthew Benson's work exhibited as part of Article 31.1 x Workshop 44. Photographic work documenting tracks, trains, blocks and roof tops, all within London, will be on show.
Check out a selection of photos below...
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Article 31.1 - The Universl Right to Play
This Summer sees the Olympic Games come to London and the other day I saw a Chinook land in Victoria Park. How weird it was to see the park in which I've played every year since birth militarised in an instance. They were, presumably, running drills ahead of the Olympics.
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| Taken by Shalena Darwood |
Parks are rare places. Places where, pretty much anything goes. Where you go to bun a zoot, play ball or just chill, doing what you like. So, to see them instantly taken over by giant helicopters synonymous with the implementation of rules was disturbing. Ironic that we owe the visit of this machine of death to an event which includes "game"in it's title - they are not playful.
The Chinooks' visit to the ends raises wider questions of space, ownership and freedom. London is increasingly privately owned. Private owners, dictate the rules and impose them by security guards - usually the police or those sporting SIS badges.
In the case of the Olympics, the owners are LOCOG and their security is the military. The Olympic site is surrounded by an £80m fence. It seems like we can only play in spaces in which we are allowed to play.
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| Matthew Schnickens |
When you are a child, your "right to play" is enshrined by the UN. That right is designed to ensure a child's freedom. There is no such right when you are an adult. Play is deemed to be integral to the development of a child, so should you stop developing just because you got older?
Article 31.1 propose a Universal Right to Play inspired by Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. By extending this right to all occupants of the city and raising a collective, social and institutional duty to provide equal opportunities to play for all we offer a vision of a more playful city against which our own can be measured.
On Friday 22nd June, Article 31.1 open an exhibition documenting the playful acts of adults in a converted shop, just off Broadway Market. Some of the acts documented within Workshop 44, take place on the limits of what is deemed acceptable, and some simply ignore the rules imposed on them.
BNTL play hard. We stretch the limits of what is deemed appropriate and embrace stuff that says "fuck rules", so it's no surprise that a few local faces are part of the show.
Over the course of the week, I'll be bringing you a glimpse of what Article 31.1 at Workshop 44 has to offer. Hopefully you'll not need much convincing to play hard.
Friday, 1 June 2012
Aakash Nihalani
If you ever need to borrow some tape, Aakash Nihalani is the guy to ask.
His website is almost as good as his work check it out (here)
Loving bntl like a fat kid loves cake.
Monday, 14 May 2012
Thursday: John de Meijer at Wayward Gallery
This Thursday John de Meijer Opens his first solo show in the UK at The Wayward Gallery. In his work de Meijer references western heroism, comic books and blockbuster movies to look at moral ideas of right and wrong. "Fake Smile" continues this theme. Starting with portrait photography that de Meijer took of himself, wearing a variety of masks and disguises, he plays with the omnipresent topic of identity in a digital age.
Take a look at his website to see some of his previous paintings.
John de Meijer
Wayward Gallery
Kind Regards
Take a look at his website to see some of his previous paintings.
John de Meijer
Wayward Gallery
Kind Regards
Joel Clifford Exhibtion - ARCAM
Joel Clifford's ARCAM exhibition, currently on at the Orange Dot Gallery.
On until the May 31st.
Location:
Orange Dot Gallery
Orange Dot Gallery
54 Tavistock Place,
Bloomsbury,
London,
WC1H 9RG
Loving bntl like a fat kid loves cake.
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Joe Pepper's Photostream
A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a Photostream titled Joe Pepper. Which i later came to find belong to a young lady called Evgeniya Chigareva located in a small town in Lithuania, called Vilniu.
Her images are all film and are very impressive, some of the colour tones are just amazing.
I'm absolutely in love with this girl's work. Her stream back dates all the way to 2008, which allows you to see the progression in her skill as a photographer and her decision making in regards to her subjects. The back dated body of work also captures the impact of mother nature within her town. From snow, to rain to sunshine its all there captured on film.
Her images are all film and are very impressive, some of the colour tones are just amazing.
I'm absolutely in love with this girl's work. Her stream back dates all the way to 2008, which allows you to see the progression in her skill as a photographer and her decision making in regards to her subjects. The back dated body of work also captures the impact of mother nature within her town. From snow, to rain to sunshine its all there captured on film.
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