Tuesday 29 October 2013

Tuesday 29th October: "Island" at the Dairy Arts Space (report by Amy Lee)


























Earlier this month saw the opening of Island at the Dairy Arts Space in Bloomsbury. The show takes Aldous Huxley's 1962 novel of the same name as a basis and explores the themes of the fictional world of Pala through a multi-disaplinary collection, presenting a variation of ideas and perspectives courtesy of over 30 established and emerging contemporary artists. 

Asides from the spirit of the book, a constant throughout all of the pieces is their connection to "island" in its simplest form. All of the works comment on at least one, if not more, of the connotations associated with the word; ranging from the fantastical interpretation  seen in Sylvie Fleury's metallic Mushrooms, to Ai Wei Wei's political sculpture Map of China. 

Through a vivid array of visual entities, the works and their connection to the writing of Huxley guide the viewer through the realms of fact and utopian fiction, observations of the present, and forewarnings of a dystopic future. - words Amy Lee 

(Photos by Fred - works by artists including Tomàs Saraceno, Ursula Mayer, Théodore Fivel, Takashi Murakami, Ai Weiwei, Terence Koh, Anthea Hamilton)

No comments: