Visual art exhibitions and events with a platform for critical writing
Bearspace, Deptford
5 June – 19 July
Reviewed by: Lucy Wilson
The word 'collective' brings to the fore the idea of working under one name, in a community, or as a group. As part of Deptford X Contemporary Arts Festival, nine artists have eschewed the authorship, commercial values and individual acclaim or criticism associated with being a solo artist to form Sparks collective.
'I'm not here' is on one level about making and exhibiting as a community and, on another, a commentary on the way different communities or individuals inhabit a global multicultural society. Bearspace is in the heart of Deptford, South East London, an area that is home to diverse cultures and communities. Within this context, the show highlights tensions between global and local, individual and collective, solitude and company.
Photographs, paintings, sculptures, drawings, videos and soundworks are on display. Scribbled pencil-crayon and biro images on the back of posted envelopes are careful doodles which illustrate faraway places, perhaps from memory. The sketched domes of a cathedral and of hazy Venetian gondolas are the work of someone sitting alone, waiting for a companion to arrive.
Simple watercolours also take the viewer to a solitary place. Sploshy paint forms lakes and landscapes, stencilled out words describe "a land with streams and pools of water with springs in the valleys". These places are lush and green and idealistic, away from the grime and bustle of Deptford High Street.
As a contrast, the viewer is invited to take part in one of the other works – to become part of the temporary community of people who have made the work. Doll-size, cloth, beanbag creatures sit within a marked space on the floor, like characters from a puppet show waiting for their puppeteer. A notice on the wall invites the viewer to rearrange the group then photograph them with a Polaroid camera.
A projected video and soundwork dominates the gallery. Voices from video interviews with locals give opinions about community, both within London and in their places of origin. A digitally-linked drawing of a map projected on the wall pinpoints the voices' places of origin, the animation highlighting the richness of the different local cultures.
The work is immediately engaging through its humour, vibrancy and context. Each piece has the mark of an individual artist, but because the works as a whole complement one another, the individual voices make up a community that has a coherent message about collectiveness and individuality in a multicultural location.
Writer detail:
Lucy Wilson
is a writer based in London
Venue detail:
Bearspace
152a Deptford High Street, London SE8 9PQ
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