Sat 4th April: We Are In Progress

"We are in progress" is the title of the exhibition at the Dray Walk Gallery this weekend in Brick Lane. That is the most modest title possible. The final year graphics students from Bath have taken it upon themselves to fundraise and set up an exhibition in London just 2 months before their finals. What mentalists. Not only is the work on display crazily good but its well hung, has its own website, poster, pamphlet, identity and font (see pic). I should have been able to tell from the exquisite invite that I received from my ex-helper Lucy Aebischer that it was going to be special.
Here is the promotional still-life they shot which is made up an item contributed by each exhibitor to sum up thier work which was based on the concept "progress". Lucy's signifier is the slinky which also featured in my lovely birthday message (see below) and also formed the structure for an amazing typeface that has she designed. Here is also a picture of her business cards which she screen-printed with rainbow ink............mmmmmmmmmm.
The beautiful pamphlet of info is printed on a thin paperstock entirely from purple ink which immediately reminded me of the worksheets at primary school (pre Xerox!). Lucy didn't even know what I meant as she is too young to have been handed the blurry, smelly copies for her homework. So I looked it up. Turns out this prehistoric printing was from a machine called a "Spirit Duplicator" (Trade name "Ditto") and used 'Mauveine' which was the 1st synthetic organic dye. How very "Ghost" to have a machine called "Ditto"! That's a whole other exhibition..........
Guests invited to the preview last evening wore purple to fit the theme which i missed the heads-up on, so looked like a miss-placed strawberry (a red day) in a blueberry punnet. Mauve was made fashionable in 1862 when Queen Victoria wore a silk gown to the opening of the Grand Exhibition................. so lets see if Bath College of Design have sparked a similar purple trend with their very own Great Exhibition.................. its on to the 6th so get down to Brick Lane..........if not for the art, they have pop-corn in their own printed paper cones!