INTERFACE
Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
REVIEW
I Did It My Way
Prenelle Gallery, West India Quay, Docklands, London 2 August – 6 September
Reviewed by: Lucy Kimbell
You've seen the lifestyle sections in the broadsheets – now see the show. The recently converted Dutch Barge Prins, moored at West India Quay in east London, is home to the Prenelle Gallery. To one side looms Canary Wharf tower, to the other lies luxurious apartments and a caviar bar. Boarding the floating gallery, you're conscious you are also stepping into the home of founders Amy Whitworth and Ian Prenelle and that one section of it – a new library and multimedia centre – is not quite finished. 'I Did It My Way', with photography, audio, video and sculpture by ten artists, works well enough to divert the visitor from any of the location's unfinished details.
In several works the artists make their agency and intentions evident by photographing themselves or performing. In other pieces the image or idea of the artist is fainter – or a feint.
Robert Grose's handmade Nike trainer, constructed with parcel tape, has a Spar carrier bag stuck to its toe being puffed up by a fan. We might not want his lifestyle. Hannah Rickards' audio piece remains ambient noise until you notice an unusual number of jolly birds at West India Quay. She recorded birds singing and dropped the pitch as she played back the recordings – slowing down the songs sufficiently for her to learn them. She then recorded herself singing the birds' songs at the lower pitch and finally played back her versions at a higher pitch so they sound like birdsong.
Axel Antas' barely visible video projection Silent conversations, 2002, invites further reflection. One by one people appear behind a steamed-up glass, draw pictures with their fingers and then walk away. This layering of imagery soon dripping into nothing suggests the possibility of artistic freedom and its frequent futility. Sure, we can all do it our way, but who cares?
Writer detail:
LUCY KIMBELL
is an artist.
Venue detail:
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