Last weekend was completely combined with full of art and new perspectives. When I was hanging out in Chelsea, I heard there was a special exhibition in Saatchi Gallery. After checking the details, I came across with the exhibition called “Black Mirror – Art as Social Satire” which is running between 28thSeptember 2018 and 13thJanuary 2019. At first, name of the exhibition is frightening and made me feel the darkness, but I really wondered what it means with saying “Black Mirror”.
This was my second visit to Saatchi Gallery. Two years ago, I visited there to see the impressive exhibition, Rolling Stone. So as a little information, Saatchi Gallery was founded in 1985 in order to provide an innovative platform for contemporary artists to present their works to the widest possible audience. According to The Art Newspaper’s survey of international museum attendance, Saatchi Gallery became in the top 15 most visited exhibitions in London over the last five years.Also, I have to say that the gallery is placed in an amazing area which is both in the both sides of city centre and nature. When you are walking from one room to another, just a view from a white window makes you feel alive.
When the words come to “What was that Black Mirror?”, Black Mirror defined in the exhibition catalogue as “Black Mirror emphasises the importance of art and satire in dissecting power structures, questioning societal norms, and visualising political unrest, providing light relief to life’s uncertainties.” The main idea of Black Mirror is discovering the role of art in social satire, and how art has been influenced by the uncertainty of politics in recent years.
World’s most interesting 26 contemporary artists came together to work for this exhibition with the help of using the media as collages, photography, caricatures, etc. The exhibition tells us how criticism can provide both relief as well as unsettling interpretation on separated climate of modern-day politics.
The masterpiece of Clayton Brothers’ “Brace Together Spin Spin” was amazing and the inspiration behind of that work of art is immediate environment, incorporating local businesses, neighbourhood regulars, and snippets of overheard conversations. By combining the pieces together, motifs, gestures, places and shapes they create dramatic scripts that are interconnected by influencing each other in different works. By offering a locality, the Clayton brothers establish a relationship between personal and global. Artists featured include Justin Craun who draw the “Designing Women” on canvas; and the drawing “Cash Cow” is the piece of Jade Townsend.
Clayton Brothers
“Brace Together Spin Spin”
2006
Mixed Media on Stretched Canvas (213.4 x 304.8 cm)
Justin Craun
“Designing Women”
2008
Oil on canvas (243.8 x 365.8 cm)
Jade Townsend
“Cash Cow”
2012
Mixed Media (236.2 x 177.8 x 45.7 cm)
There was also another exhibition called “Penumbra: Textured Shadow, Coloured Light” in Saatchi Gallery and this may be the most attractive part of this journey. In the first area of exhibition, people encounter walls decorated with colourful maze which give a feeling of movement. This was an unusual work of art that is featured by Rashid Khalifa. After my researches, I found that Rashid referred to the wall-mounted aluminium parts, which are referred to as parametric sculptures based on complex mathematical geometric design in complex patterns. He comments: “I was inspired by winding narrow alleyways and traditional architecture. I would like the audience to experience the maze as a conceptual entity – a spiritual journey with no fixed destination.”
Penumbra exhibition takes his approach a step further because he realized that exploring can be changed depending on the position of viewer.
In the second part of this exhibition, a colossal grid structures are presented. Shapes and colours of the structure create an effect of a light show in the room. When I searched the behind meaning of these structures, the shapes and tones are used to reimagine an urban environment, and explores architecture, city planning and memories.
So, “How was these two exhibitions?”
I can truly say that both of them were very interesting and also perplexing exhibits. Some parts of Black Mirror are really abstract for my view, but some others impressed me in a way that is tried to be explained. If you want to spend good time with your friends around Chelsea, you must take your coffee and have a look at these two. I believe both of the exhibition are well worth a visit. Black Mirror makes lots of questions in your mind but also it will brighten you up.
For some extra info for the ones who want to visit, exhibition is free and open until 6pm every day.
Address:
Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York’s HQ
King’s Road
London
SW3 4RY
References:
https://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/black_mirror__art_as_social_satire/ (Accessed: 16/10/2018)
https://www.saatchigallery.com/art/penumbra.php (Accessed: 16/10/2018)
BEYZA KUZUOGLU 