- Venue
- Serpentine Gallery
- Location
- London
It was with some relief that I read some of the reviews of Yoko Ono’s show ‘ToTheLight’ this morning following my trip to London yesterday. I knew then that I was not entirely alone in my reaction to some of her work.
I had walked up to The Serpentine with a real spring in my step anticipating something special. It was however with a sense of bewildered disappointment that I left some three quarters of an hour later.
The show is made up of various installations, videos and poems both old and new. Cut Piece (1964) remains a powerful video work of some depth confirmed by the shocked and absorbed expressions of those watching with me yesterday. Ono’s latest work, including the interactive #smilesfilm and Wish Tree are in my opinion dated, wishy washy, and vacuously sentimental.
The little brochure produced by The Serpentine Gallery claims that, ‘Ono has influenced generations of artists..’ and that ‘she is a pioneer of conceptual art…’ mmmm that maybe so, who am I to comment? What I can question though is why yet again we are asked to be fooled by the Emperor’s new clothes?
Anyway best to see for yourself and add your smile to create that ‘global string of smiles covering the planet’ ( Yoko Ono To The Light Serpentine Gallery Brochure 2012 ) …see if you can pick out mine!
