I woke up with cabin fever after being ill with a bad eye infection for 3 days. I had this intense need to get out of my small flat and see and experience normal life again. A break from being consumed by self-pity, the worry of blurred vision and the frustration with the inability to focus on reading text or editing images. Leaving my flat with a pair of large dark sunglasses on to hide my red swollen eyes. I headed to The White Cube Bermondsey, which is one of my favorite art spaces in London. It is situated in cool creative area that has a good vibe, a perfect remedy.
Walking into the impressive gallery space always lifts my mood. A visit to the bookshop with a well selected selection of books. I always struggle not to leave laden with new coffee table reading and an unhealthy bank balance. The exhibition’s at The White Cube always leaves me questioning my understanding of certain elements of art. My personal relationship with art is that it is always evolving driven by life’s experience that changes my views, which trigger a different emotional reaction as well as the technical developments and discussion between other artists. I tend to revisit my unfinished artworks and think about why the narrative did not work, be it the lack of maturity in addressing emotional subtext of the work or scale and medium employed.
Tracey Emin exhibition was a very powerful, emotional show, which focus on loss, anger and love. All essential feeling everyone can relate to. The large scale of the works, the use of bronze (physically strong material) and poignant text heightened the impact. I was glad to have a reason not to take my dark sunglasses off. I have huge respect for Tracey Emin as an artist. It takes a lot of courage to address personal experiences such as abortion, love and loss of her mother in such an open, truthful, emotions raw way. She is a very skilled draughtswoman. Who can work with a very wide range of material from detailed magnified portrait photos, film, drawing, expressive paintings, neon text and sculpture.
…the essence of creativity, that moment of conception…the whole being of everything…it had to be about where it was really coming from”.
Tracey Emin
“A Fortnight of Tears” | TRACEY EMIN | White Cube Bermondsey
On enter South Gallery I, you are met by fifty large photography which are spread over two rows covering four walls (all equal in size evenly spread out in a uniform manner). Each photo depicts the artist struggle with insomnia. Standing in the middle of the room you are surrounded by fifty faces looking at you, all taken at different times. Some are lit with bright harsh lighting that reveal every line and detail of the face and others were lit with darker lighting so you could just make out part of a face, which is softer and more abstract. They are beautiful in the frank and rawness. I like the fact that they had not been window dressed up.
“Insomnia Room Installation” | 2018 | Giclee prints | 77 15/16 X 60 in. (198 X 152.4cm) each.
Kneeling in the center of the gallery 9 X 9 X 9 is a female bronze figure, larger than life. As a viewer I felt I was walking in on a beautiful intimate moment between a mother and child but quickly realised the absence of the child, the feeling quickly turned to great sorrow, loss and despair.
“The Mother” | 2017 | Bronze | 104 ¾ X 69 11/16 X92 ½ in. (266 X 177 X 235cm)
South Gallery II had large expressive paintings adorning the walls. Neon piece of art, “I Long For You, 2019 (121 ½ x 185 1/16 in).” which reflected off the shiny gallery floor and interacted with large bronze figure lying near by “When I Sleep, 2018 (45 7/8 x 170 7/8 x 104 5/16 in)”. I found the relationship of these different pieces interesting.