Pockets of real life in the midst of the sorting …
A short break from the sorting meant a foray into real life over the weekend. It’s been a while since I’ve been in the company of other artists and their art, so it felt good to be out and about on Friday evening, albeit briefly. Sadly, I didn’t have time to hang around for too long at the first member’s show, ‘Love Shack‘ at hARTartslane on Friday evening.
hARTslane has consistently been a place I’ve loved to visit – a unique and inclusive gallery, tucked away in a side street in New Cross Gate. I always feel welcomed, have enjoyed many exhibitions there and taking part in the brilliant ‘New Narratives’ exhibition myself, as far back as 2018, means I’ve had a long running connection with the gallery.
I joined up as a part of their new membership innitiative a couple of weeks ago on the back of feeling keen not to become isolated from other artists once I start working from home. Photos of artists in the member’s show and their work, subsequently posted on hARTslane’s IG thread, have pictured people I’ve followed for a while on social media but have never met in person – such a shame that I had to dash off. Next time, though – the fact it’s local to where I live meaning that I’m much more likely to be able to get along to the events and shows put on.
‘Love is a Losing Game’ – found objects SE8 photo by Kate Murdoch
My work for ‘Love Shack’ was a photo I took some time back. I thought of it immediately the theme of love was introduced. The title ‘Love is a losing game’ is after one of Amy’s most heartrending songs (see link below ). I work primarily with found objects, forming assemblages and installations of my own with them. This time round, the objects formed a ready made installation – photographed, just as I found them, outside a block of flats in Creekside, Deptford. As ever, I thought about the story behind the objects: Why were they abandoned in the street – the lampshade, the duvet and of course, the reproduced photo of Amy Winehouse? Were they symbolic of a broken relationship, perhaps – the photo of Amy evoking too many memories to hold onto?
