Learning art in London: smartphones gallery
That evening I was heading to Faraday’s Pub to make the first foray — I agreed with the classmates to make a small gathering.
We all had those flyers for one free cyder that I also found among numerous leaflets and prospects about Meningitis, Epsom Church, and HSBC bank collected during the exhibition at my UCA.
Walking up the Church road towards the High Street I admired the old pub-restaurant “Ye Olde Kings Head”. It is situated across the road cornerwise to the very old “St. Martin of Tour Church” which possibly was erected here in the 7th century.
I believe if Instagram would give a possibility to hit a.m.a.p. hot likes and there would be a post about this lovely neighbourship of the pub and the church, I would give them zillions of likes because I just loved that these two opposing one another institutions live peacefully next to each other.
Studying at the Creative University means that you need to visit a gallery, museum, or exhibition at least once a week. This will help us to know more about what vibes in the art of London and feel the buzz of cultural life here.
I was ashamed that being in London for already about 10 days I never visited a tiny gallery. If I am questioned by Brian (our teacher) about new names and trends … let’s have in painting, I will remember only the “The People’s Monarch” at Gatwick airport which depicts the Queen at the time of her coronation and at her Diamond Jubilee. It is 38 square meters and contains 5,000 photos. “This is what I only know in this city,” — I could only murmur to myself, when entered the Faradays, chewing the bubble gum and searching my classmates.
That was not the cyder’s evening and I didn’t have red wine. However, we had been and talked up a storm about almost everything in our life. I looked at these girls (just for the record, I am the only man in my course) and thought that it was so nice now to know them not only because I didn’t need to go afterward to a gallery this weekend but because they all were creative and nice people.
I walked into their smartphones’ gallery after one pint of beer and found out masterpieces of young women who will make their names soon in London and possibly in other Meccas of Art across the globe.
The Greece art that evening was represented by Rania Koukomi. We learned already about this young artist during our classes at the University of the Creative Arts. In Faraday’s smartphone gallery, she exhibited a few of her works performed by penciling.
“A cigarette of happiness”. This scene reminded me of a woman during World War II who had long awaited her husband. After she did her laundry, tired and takes a break, she recalls that her husband was alive and coming home.
“Gender inequality”. Chinese philosophy Yin Yang found its interpretation in this battle of emotions when women raise their voice up to say “no” to that women are paid less than men. Rania urges women and men to see the fact that women always downgrade their career opportunities because of the need to be in maternity, meanwhile men have more opportunities to be promoted.
The “Old skull pierced through by the crisscross-looking sword” reminds us of old dogmas in our heads that prevent the evolution of humankind in all meaning. Humans are supposed to be brave and innovative to achieve new goals in science however old-fashioned stereotypes and even ignorance act as a brake on development.
Another smartphone gallery brought me to the works of the young artist from China Siobhan Gong. That evening she exhibited her early art in -neo-abstractionism that combined new approaches and techniques in making these scenes.
“Human sound in the Galaxy” — the clipped artwork was done using parts of newspapers and all other materials and particles near at hand. They are placed on the glass and then photographed from different angles. This scene illustrates well how diverse human life is and how it would resonate in the Galaxy if it could be seen by aliens.
“Radiance of Eternity” — depicts the knowledge of the planet accumulated for ages since the moment of planet birth after the Big Bang. It seems as though human beings touch the deep blue spheres of knowledge, they can learn the true history of the blue ball they live in.
“Matrix of Love” — another scene from Siobhan demonstrates the colors that feel a person who has love inside of him. “Love the planet, love your country, love the nature, love biodiversity,” says the young artist describing her feelings that moment she did this work.
Afterward, I scrolled the Instagram gallery of the young artist from France Priscilla Cailleau.
Her comic scenes with the predominant participation of two personalities and their friendship — cactus and a cat tell you in a funny way their everyday life.
The scene made of the real photograph of Cactus and the pictured Cat clearly shows how cats in humans’ life play a soothing role and can variegate life. Cats can catch invisible butterflies that probably land on unseen flowers of cactuses.
Another picture tells the story of the Cat sitting surrounded by cactuses. It very much resembles the life of an urban person whose life runs in the minimalistic entourage and with a few flowers in the kitchen. Nevertheless, this life is not miserable, and even feel very much trouble-free.
One more funny uplifting and reinforcing scene shows the Christmas outfit the Cat wore because it feels itself cactus afterward. A good example of tolerance towards diversity and being different.
All these stories so illustratively narrated by my classmates demonstrated how we all differed from each other in what we are doing but all the while we felt connected with the world of design, the word of Art that can make a lot in changing people’s behaviour and redound to the advantage of humankind.
