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The grand opening of our summer show, entitled Glory Hole. Taking inspiration from the era that the building was erected, and the people of that time, the exhibition revolved around Victorian London. From the Dickensian Gin palaces to the squalor of East end lifestyle, during the turn of the century’s’ equivalent to our recession struck times.
“perfectly dazzling when contrasted with the darkness and dirt we have just left…” Charles Dickens.
Front of our building.
Visitors.
A man in a top hat at the Top and Tail gallery!
Swarms of visitors coming from the station- not a usual sight in Hackney Wick!
Our gin bar!
Working out where to head next on the Hackey Wicked map.
Visitor experimenting with Reuben Sutherland’s picture disks.
Photographs © Betony May 2009.
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Betony May painting the windows!
Sign by Reuben Sutherland.
Reuben preparing his piece.
Mark preparing his piece.
Photographs by Catarina Dos Santos.
Welsh illustrator Betony May has a distinctly delicate, playful visual language. By hand carving minutely detailed rubber stamps she layers colourful elements combined with delicate pencil line work. The effect is similar to traditional printmaking techniques, but with a fresh contemporary twist.
For the Top and Tail summer show Betony will be exploring how alcohol might of affected a lovers relationship in the Victorian era. She will be applying her bold geometric printmaking within a new three dimensional format.
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Tana Graduated from Central Saint Martins College in 2003 with a BA in Fine Art Sculpture and currently lives and works in Hackney Wick. She creates work through a series of processes, which often follow a scientific methodology: Observing, collecting, recording and experimentation being key elements in her working method. She utilizes a mixture of found and fabricated items to build installations that focus on nature as a socially constructed concept: Changing representations and values of ‘nature’ have an interactive and reciprocal relationship with the real ecology.
This month she will be bringing her interpretation of Dickensian London by showing work inspired by the pigeon fanciers of the era.
Filed under: Artist spotlight.
Filed under: Artist spotlight.
Harriet Fleuriot is an award-winning filmmaker with a penchant for performance and silly humour. Her work is mainly influenced by fantasy, femininity, feminist theory and food.
For the Top and Tail Harriet has been working on a short film piece entitled Hilary Flamingo Delivers Slaughtered Mother From The Palace Ruins (Just In Time). This will be a character-based video performance reflecting upon the ridiculously demonised union of women and gin in the 18th century.
A short collection of Hillary Flamingo’s dream vocations.
Duncan McGonigle’s work examines the various relationships between referential languages and mannerisms within iconography. His paintings and drawings appropriate images from magazines, books and film, re-interpreting them with sub-references from music, film and quotation, often alternating original dialogue to juxtapose the image. These works attempt to symbolise the concept of contemporary cultural reference and it’s many connections to itself, as well as purvey memory and document alternative moments in modern culture.
For the Glory Hole exhibition Duncan has created a piece of work consisting of two opposing paintings both of a juniper bush. The first painting, entitled ‘In all the gin joints in all the world, she walks into mine,’ will be created while sober, an attempt at an accurate depiction, in keeping with the styles and methods of his illustrative practice. The second painting, entitled: ‘There’s an old man siting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin” made with the same intent of accurate representation as the previous painting, but produced in conjunction with the artist consuming quantities of gin. Both paintings will be produced on wood panelling, salvaged directly from the streets of Hackney Wick.
One half of audio visual performance duo Sculpture, Reuben Sutherland uses 12 inch vinyl records for his animated art pieces. He adapts the records using precisely designed images that he mounts upon the vinyl, which when rotated and filmed at the correct speed, gives off a zoetrope effect. The result is fascinating to see, and can be quite meditative to experience.
This summer Reuben will be making his second apperance in the Top and Tail, and we have no doubt that his work will be someting pretty exceptional.
More of Reubens work can be found at Tapebox.
All images © 2009. Top and Tail Gallery.
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Welcome to the blog sit of Hackney Wick’s Top and Tail gallery, here are some shots of last years summer show to get us started.
James Hutchinson.
Simon Lord
Betony May
Reuben Sutherland.
LOGAN.
Betony May.
L: Robson Ceasar. R: Arran Bolders.
Tana West.
Gallery View.
Arran Bolders.
All images © 2009. Top and Tail gallery.
