Tag Archives: artwork

Bells and more at the Serpentine Gallery in London

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The Serpentine Galleries – both North and South – rarely put on exhibitions that are anything but adventurous. Such is the case for the latest at Serpentine South, which can be viewed until 10 January 2027. The exhibition showcases creations by Justin Caguiat, who was born in Tokyo in 1989. He is known for his inter-disciplinary works which explore the connections between architecture, spirituality, and everyday rituals.

The exhibition is called “Change Ringing”. The name refers to the commonly employed English method of ringing church bells, which, as is explained in a Wikipedia article, is:

“… the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as ‘changes’ …  This creates a form of bell music which cannot be discerned as a conventional melody, but is a series of mathematical sequences.”

Caguiat’s exhibition incorporates painting, sculpture, printmaking, sound and film. The sounds are produced by a collection of bells and loudspeakers positioned throughout the gallery. The bells are struck by electrically operated mechanisms. They do not ring randomly, but are programmed to sound according to a score composed by Lily Pickett. As one views the show, you can hear a sequence of sounds produced by the bells.

Apart from the bells and the sounds theyb produce, there are some attractive, abstract, colored canvases to be enjoyed. Some of them have been mounted on wooden frameworks behind which the brickwork of the gallery has been exposed by removing its plaster covering. There are also some sculptures. Some of these incorporate bells, which form part of the sound creating ensemble.

In the central room of the gallery, there are several circular discs. These are made of copper and coated with special paints, which, as the Serpentine’s website (https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/justin-caguiat-change-ringing/ ) explained, are:

“ … a new series of thermochromic paintings that continuously change in response to heat and light. As temperatures fluctuate, layers of heat-sensitive pigment reveal and conceal different forms, creating works that remain in a constant state of transformation.”

During the brief time we saw them, we did not notice any transformations, as described.

I enjoyed viewing “Change Ringing” because it was not only aurally and visually satisfying, but also innovative in an engaging way.

Created by an artist born in the Philippines

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Pacita Abad (1946-2004) was born in the Philippines, and died in Singapore.

Her interest in the plight refugees is reflected in her works. The 1998 work “Angkor Wat” is a magnificent example of this.

Using the Hindu-Buddhist temple at Siem Riep in Cambodia as the main subject on her creation, she incorporates paintings of Cambodian refugees. The resulting artwork is a spectacular sight.

We were lucky to have seen this work which was being displayed by the Alison Jacques Gallery during the Frieze Masters 2026 art fair held in London’s Regents Park.

Two artists from Japan in London

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‘Kensho‘ is a Zen Buddhist term meaning ‘seeing one’s essence’. It is the name used by the London art gallery Tristan Hoare (in Fitzroy Square) for an exhibition being held until 31 October 2026.

The exhibition features ceramics by Taizo Kuroda (1946-2021) and works in ink by Sousai Inada (born 1949). Both are Japanese.

The exhibition is small but very satisfying and the gallery provides a wonderful setting for the artwork.

Landing at an airport on London’s Southbank

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AIRPORTS FIGURE IN many people’s lives these days. The artist Yin Xiuzhen (born 1963 in Beijing) studied art at Capital Normal University, then called Beijing Normal Academy, in Beijing from 1985 to 1989. Many of her works incorporate sewing, a skill that kept her amused as a child during Mao’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). “Heart to Heart” is an exhibition of her works at London’s Hayward Gallery that continues until 3 May 2026. The gallery’s website subtitles the name of her show with the words:

“See the familiar in new ways, as artworks made from unconventional materials and overlooked objects reveal personal and collective stories.”

And what one sees at the exhibition confirms those words. The website also noted:

“Yin Xiuzhen is renowned for her use of secondhand clothing, concrete, food and household ephemera in her immersive installations and sculptures. She creates multimedia artworks that negotiate the spaces between memories, individuals and the globalised societies that we live in today.”

One of the immersive installations on display is “International Flight”, which incorporates examples of her “Portable City” series. The Portable Cities are open suitcases in which there are models of city centres, including those of many places in China and one of London.  On entering the first gallery of the Hayward through a door marked “All flights”, one can see a model of a passenger jet plane made of cloth, suspended from the ceiling. Below it, at floor level, there is a life-size model of a baggage claim conveyor belt, on which several examples of Portable Cities are displayed. Near the conveyor belt, there are three seats of the kind usually found in the departure lounges of airports and a few baggage trolleys on whose handles are the words: “Press Down to Release the Brake”. The installation is not only visually fascinating and somewhat humorous, but also a creative portrayal of globalism.

The airport installation is only one of several highly original installations on display. The others are well-worth seeing, and if you are in London, this intriguingly original exhibition should not be missed.

Numbered pebbles to remember the dead in Folkestone

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ON THE FIRST of July 1916, 19 thousand two hundred and forty British soldiers were killed during the first day of the Battle of the Somme. A memorial on the Leas Cliff promenade in Folkestone, Kent, remembers them, not by name but by number.

In 2008, the artist Mark Wallinger created an artwork called “Folk Stones”, which can be viewed at Leas Cliff. It consists of a square area containing 19,240 pebbles. Each one represents one of the victims killed on that first day of battle in 1916. Just as each of the soldiers had his own service number, the artist has numbered each of the stones in his artwork.

It is a simple creation, but one that is very moving.

Order and chaos portrayed in South London’s Peckham

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THE ARTIST LEONARDO Drew was born in 1961 at Tallahassee, Florida (USA), and now works in Brooklyn (New York City). Until 7 September 2025, an entire, large room at the South London Gallery in Peckham is occupied by a work by Drew, which has the name “Ubiquity II”.

At first sight, the viewer is confronted by what looks like the chaotic result of a big explosion. The room is filled with fragments of wood, some of which is piled in heaps leaning against the walls, and the rest scattered on the floor, on which visitors tread. On closer examination, it can be seen that there are fragments of mirrors amongst the debris, and almost every piece of wood has paint or some other modification on it.

Despite looking like disorganised chaos, it is not. The artist carefully selected each of the fragments, modified them (often with paint), and then carefully arranged them to produce what the viewer sees. He has created the depiction of chaos and destruction in a most careful orderly way. As the gallery’s website put it, Drew:

“… creates reflective abstract pieces that play on the tension between order and chaos. Transforming and eroding materials by hand in the studio, he explores the cyclical nature of life and decay.”

And given what is happening in the world today, this powerful depiction of order and chaos is particularly relevant.

A British artist inspired by paintings in Venice

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THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL about the quality of ambient light in Venice (Italy). It enhances the attractiveness of the many beautiful buildings that the city contains. Maybe the special nature of the light is because it both shines on Venice and then gets reflected back by the water that both surrounds and flows through the city. Whatever the explanation might be, Venice’s natural lighting conditions have attracted, and continue to attract, artists from all over the world. One of these is the British painter David Price (born 1970), who has made many trips to Venice, and is currently exhibiting his paintings influenced by these visits at the Frestonian Gallery (in London W11 4BE) until 17 April 2025.

David has written (quoted from the Frestonian’s website):

“For as long as I can remember I have drawn from paintings. As a child, my only access to art was through the few books that my parent’s kept, some of which had tiny black and white reproductions within them. These books were my first art teachers and I drew from the Rembrandts and Poussins and Titians inside … All of my life I have made drawings in galleries and from books and these sketches have informed and inspired my practice for over 40 years.”

The paintings on display at the gallery were largely inspired by seeing late Renaissance paintings in various locations in Venice including the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the Accademia Gallery, the Church of Madonna del’Orto, and other churches in the city. At first sight, the connection between David’s exuberantly coloured and beautifully executed paintings and the great works he saw that inspired him are not immediately obvious. Someone well-trained in the art of the late Renaissance might after a while discern something that reminded him or her of the original old masters. However, no knowledge of the history of art is necessary to gain enjoyment from David’s creations. The paintings are neither copies nor parodies of the old originals, but express the artist’s reactions to them.

What struck me as I viewed the paintings is that many of them capture both the quality of the light in Venice as well as well as the city’s rich tradition of carnival and other similar spectacular events. Whether or not this was one of the artist’s intentions. I have no idea, but seeing his works evoked memories of a city that I have visited many times during the last seven decades.

Although the Frestonian is a little way off the main London commercial galleries’ ‘beaten track’, it is well worth visiting. Housed near Shepherds Bush roundabout in what is the only survivor of the short-lived Republic of Frestonia (see: www.linkedin.com/pulse/frestonia-londons-independent-republic-exhibition-adam-yamey/), the gallery hosts a regular series of well-curated temporary exhibitions.

From sewer to seating on the streets of London

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THE VICTORIA EMBANKMENT was constructed along the River Thames in the 1860s. It was built to enclose a newly constructed sewer: the Main Low Level Sewer, which was part of the grand sewage system improvement project designed by Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (1819-1891). The wall of the embankment facing the river was constructed from large brick-shaped, carved granite stones, each weighing about 1 tonne. Several of these have had to be removed to construct a new sewage conduit – the Thames Tideway Tunnel.

58 of the granite stones have been repurposed to become a series of open-air public art installations. This series was created by Matthew Barnett Howland, Oliver Wilton, and CSK Architects. Small groups of these have been placed in seven locations: St Peter’s Hill, Carter Lane Gardens, St Paul’s Cathedral, Christchurch Greyfriars Church Garden, King Edward St, Little Britain and Smithfield Rotunda. Today, the 31st of July 2024, we came across the group placed in Little Britain, which is not far from Barbican Underground Station. What we saw were 3 of the huge locks of granite arranged in a straight line. A gentleman was using one of them as a bench while he looked at his mobile telephone. Next to them, a wooden sign explained what is going on. This was useful because if there had been no sign next to them, we might not have given them a moment’s notice.

You might well be wondering why this series of stones were placed at seven places in London. I will leave it to someone else to explain:

“The idea behind the project is to stimulate discussion about reuse, material lifespan and cultural heritage, at a time when we can make a significant contribution to a more sustainable built environment.” (www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/streets/from-the-thames-to-eternity-installation)

I wonder what Bazalgette would have thought of this.

Art of heros

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GEORGE FREDERIC WATTS (1807-1904) was a prolific, highly acclaimed Victorian artist. Visitors to London’s Kensington Gardens can easily admire one of his works, a sculpture called “Physical Energy”. Standing across the Serpentine from a sculpture by Henry Moore, Watts’s sculpture is a bronze casting of a version of it that was sent to South Africa as part of a memorial to Cecil Rhodes. One of Watts’s less prominent works, and quite a curious one, can be seen in Postman’s Park, which is a few yards north of St Pauls Cathedral in the City of London. It is the Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice.

The memorial consists of a wall covered with rectangular plaques, made with ceramic tiles commemorating heroic deeds carried out by ordinary people. For example, one bears the words:
“Frederick Alfred Croft. Inspector aged 31. Saved a lunatic woman from suicide at Woolwich Arsenal Station but was himself run over by a train. Jan 11, 1878”.
And many other examples of great bravery by civilians are recorded on the wall, which is protected by a canopy with a decorative fringe.

By Susan Hiller

The artist Susan Hiller (1940-2019) was born in Florida (USA) and died in London. Apparently, she was surprised by how few people noticed the memorial in Postman’s Park, let alone read the tragic plaques. I am one of the few, who have done so. So, as soon as I got near to an artwork displayed in a temporary exhibition in the Tate Britain art gallery, I knew it was based on the plaques in Postman’s Park. The piece consists of 41 photographs of plaques on the Memorial, which have been arranged on a wall by Susan Hiller. In the centre of this artistic array that she has called “Monument 1980-1”, she has placed a plaque which consists of a stretch of tiling on which the words “Strive to be your own hero” have been crudely written with black paint.

Susan Hiller’s interesting version of GF Watts’s Memorial is one of several intriguing exhibits in an exhibition called “Material as Message”, which was still being installed when we visited it in March 2023. There is yet one more exhibit to be unveiled. Hiller’s exhibit interested me because I am familiar with Postman’s Park, but the other exhibits were equally fascinating both visually and conceptually.