The Market Estate Project

We went to the Market Estate Project on Saturday afternoon and saw so much, I can only show a fraction here. The estate is being rebuilt piece by piece, with this one due to be demolished this week, so some enterprising artists decided to turn it into a giant free installation, with various flats being given artist makeovers, along with a theatre space, cafe and open air performances. Once you get past the voyeurism aspect (art lovers picking over former council flats that they would never have otherwise gone anywhere near) there were actually some great moments where you felt the lives of the people who lived there were being respectfully celebrated at last. Also we love a derelict building so were kind of in heaven.

New windows at Selfridges

Beautifully styled and so bright I could hardly hear myself think! A London/global city theme for these ones. Excuse the reflections - it was so sunny in the city today. About time too! And just in time for the weekend.




And look at the little seagulls eating the chips!

The John Hour at Dalston Superstore

We like the new exhibition by arts collective The John Hour, which comprises Emily Pugh, Emma Gibson and Raven Smith, on at Dalston Superstore, which opened last night. Emily's beautiful paper moths clustered round the emergency lights, Emma's suicide machines tempted us with their cheap and easy way out(sadly I didn't have 10p to try one) and Raven's hilarious self portraits - well - have a look at his blog to see what they looked like. There were also bright coloured hanging robots by Emily and Emma, and a sound installation in the basement, which was meant to make you feel as though you were 'incredibly uncomfortable at a Goa trance rave'. Thanks, The John Hour!

PS The original John Hour was the bright idea of a former New York City mayor in 1979 to publicly name and shame, on a regular public radio show, convicted customers of prostitutes, or "johns". The plan was that faced with this kind of treatment, people would stop seeing prostitutes. It never took off though, in fact lasting only one broadcast, before it was condemned as 'a gross abuse of government power'.

Metropolis in waiting...

Chiharu Shiota's One Place

Also on at Haunch of Venison until 27 March. The piece with all the window frames was especially striking. Apparently they're all from demolished Communist-era houses from the former East Berlin. The shape suggests to me a wall (like the Berlin wall), but the artist also arranged them in a kind of yin yang shape, which I didn't get at first! The man from the gallery watching the room wasn't impressed with it! He told me 'it seemed a bit contrived, almost like she's trying too hard to layer meaning on it.' He agreed though that the tower rising up to a skylight (a nice clear evening blue when I took the photo) was a nice surprise!

Bond Street and Anger

Jitish Kallat's The Astronomy of the Subway

at Haunch of Venison until 27 March.