Just incase you may have missed the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair at Somerset House, don't worry because the current free exhibition on show is HASSAN HAJJAJ "LA CARAVANE". His new body of work are portraits made of moving image screens where each person takes turn to perform a song with the entire series synced up as one coordinated track. Amongst the subjects of performers are Afrikan Boy and Abimaro in a duet with her sister Lakwena. The sunglasses worn in all of the videos have been collated into this collage which is framed in his signature style of built in food packaging. So, so good. If you'd like to buy into his cosmic Moroccan aesthetic then make sure to visit the Somerset House shop or visit Hassan's own souk inspired salon / studio at 30-32 Calvert Ave, London E2 7JP.
Selected works (my favourites) from this year's 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair at Somerset House including: Lakin Ogunbanwo, Mauro Pinto, Alexis Peskine, Emo de Medeiros, Abdoulaye Konaté, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, Atta Kwami.
Thanks to Butchers Hair Salon for the Aveda cut, style, treatment and relaxation head & neck massage! Located at the start of Columbia Road, the salon not only represents this plant-based and eco-friendly brand but also has botanical interior decor of a canopy of hanging plants. It was a real treat to have the heavenly scented products throughout the appointment and the addition of the massage to begin was pure luxury. Here you can see the essential oils used and the final cut which has moved my side parting to the middle - a brand new departure! I'm very pleased with this move and really chuffed with my sharp new "do" from Lisa Janesey who curled the lengths in the blow dry for a fun wave to leave the salon. Check out their Instagram to see more of their work and influences / references.
After a couple of years since devising Survival Techniques and covering walls of London with inspirational motto murals, Naomi Edmondson now has a solo show at Atom Gallery in Green Lanes. The gallery is situated above a screen-printing studio where you can view her prints being made ready for the limited edition run in conjunction with the show. Out the back, she has painted a brand new commission on the side of their exposure unit which you can see in this portrait of the artist at her private view!
Her archive of works are hung gloriously in one complete story alongside a London map pin-pointing the locations of her large scale street-art. There is even a suggestion box to add your own Survival Technique to her bank of memos to be used in the future. If you'd like a hands-on experience painting with Naomi, check out her Cass Arts workshop here.
Patternity invited me to The Wellcome Trust to see their collaboration "INFECTIOUS PATTERN" which is a venture to highlight the research that Wellcome supports via a patterned installation and film. The windows down the Euston Road which are always brilliantly filled with scientific themed artwork now house the signature Patternity op-art designs. For this site-specific project they researched and referenced the institution's library as source material for the shapes. For example the iconic Memphis style squiggles originally came from an Alan Turing print derived from bacteria in a petri dish. I never even knew this fact until their presentation and Q&A with Mike Turner who is Head of Infection & Immunobiology at Wellcome. Mike gave a history of the success in supporting schemes such as Malaria medicine & prevention and HIV home-testing kits. He also covered the current widespread urgent issue on the implications of antibiotic misuse.
It's issues such as this that the campaign is targeting to address in educating the public passing the installation and via Patternity's global online network and community. Part of this outreach is a chance to print your own patterned tote bag to wear wherever you go to share the message and "spread" the word. Here you can see the bag which I collaged together during the press preview which is now a workshop open to the public. Head over to Biletto for a ticket from which the proceeds will go to Unicef's life-saving vaccines.
See the animated film here.
