Tag Archives: Matty Skylab

BLACK EYED SUSAN

Opening Night at Arts Club East

Thursday evening and there we were at Arts Club East a members club that is the brainchild of legendary Shoreditch host, Gary Fairfull.

Gary host
Gary Fairfull, host at Arts Club East members club, Shoreditch

ACE shows a broad programme of events including exhibitions of work by members and other invited artists. Black Eyed Susan is a show of paintings that I was invited to exhibit throughout October and November. The work is shown alongside pieces from the permanent collection at the club

Sally Dunbar, Kelly Davitt & Me
Sally Dunbar, Kelly Davitt & Me

The club is a haven of quiet sophistication punctuated by raucous revelry when the situation demands.

Arts Club East
Nana & Colin

The opening night of BLACK EYED SUSAN demanded both and the visitors were not disappointed.

Arts Club East
Mat Ducasse contributor to and collaborator plays music

Cocktails and conversation flowed, arts discussed and legs shaken.

Arts Club East
Abdul & Cate with her hairy handbag
Arts Club East, Black Eyed Susan Opening Night
Keith, Abdul & The Knight of the Hunter

The show continues until 21st November Tuesday-Saturday 4pm-1am to members or by appointment to non members.

Arts Club East is to be found above…

The White Horse, 64 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JJ

Photographs © Craig Hunt

Introducing The Outside World All Stars

Continuing my longstanding tradition of collaboration with artists, designers, performers and musicians I am pleased to announce the brand new line up of The Outside World All Stars or TOWAS if you like. The All Stars comprise some old favourites such as music maestro Mat Ducasse AKA Matty Skylab, those letterpress lotharios Pixel Press Julieta Hernandez Adame and David Vassie, as well as some new and exciting collaborators including the woman of a thousand voices, Fenella Fudge and choreographer to the stars Dame Vanessa Fenton.  There are also guest spots from photographers Claire Lawrie and Alixandra Fazzina, along with the tiny dancers ‘The Little Things’ AKA Georgie & Elvis Wallace and many more.

Mat Ducasse and I have worked together on many projects over the years and this new work is the culmination of ideas that have been buzzing around The Outside World since at least 2011. We are both equally fascinated by the seminal 1955 film The Night of the Hunter and have spent many hours picking over the bones of the story and of the making of the film itself. So when it came to creating this new exhibition  it seemed natural to ask Mat to work with me to create a brand new score to accompany a libretto in the form of a reading of the book of the same name, to be narrated by Fenella Fudge.

Fenella Fudge although a very experienced radio presenter having being ‘best known as one of the calm voices of Radios 2 and 4’ as well a voiceover and voice actor, is a new member of the TOWAS team. I am happy to say that she will be working on the show, demonstrating her vocal versatility telling the story of The Night of the Hunter, by Davis Grubb for a contemporary audience.  Here she is reading from Louis de Bernier’s Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.

The wonderfully talented Vanessa Fenton danced with The Royal Ballet for thirteen years as well as with the Ballet Nationale de Marseille, Roland Petit, with The English National Ballet and with Wayne Sleep at The London Coliseum, before she decided to run away to join The Outside World All Stars to choreograph a piece for the show. I am very excited to be able to be working with Vanessa as she directs and The Little Things (Georgie & Elvis Wallace), in a performance based on the underlying concept of the show ‘Children Carrying Heavy Objects’.

I have worked with Julieta Hernandez Adame at The Outside World since 2010. She has realised many of my ideas as graphics and publicity for shows and events over the years. Julieta first showed her work as a typographer and printmaker at the gallery making provocative verbal challenges through the written word throwing down the gauntlet and the velvet glove all in one searing phrase. For this show she is working with David Vassie at Pixel Press to create the visual identity for It’s A Hard World For Little Things’, with beautifully wrought letterpress editions as well as designing all of the publicity material. I am so pleased to have them back in TOWASland where they belong.

Title of flyer

Claire Lawrie is a portrait photographer who has has collaborated with me on photographing some of the young subjects for the show. I have used these as a basis for subsequent drawings.

Claire Lawrie Terri

Terri by Claire Lawrie

Alixandra Fazzina is an internationally renowned photographer who works in often under reported conflict zones highlighting the humanitarian consequences of war. She is graciously allowing me access to her archives to source images from which to create a new drawing.

Flowers-of-Afghaistan-Alixandra-Fazzina

The Flowers of Afghanistan by Alixandra Fazzina.

 

There are many others involved in the show who form part of The Outside World All Stars and who are playing vital roles in the production of the show, including Craig Hunt, Rucksack Cinema and The Bhopal Medical Appeal.  This is a very exciting moment for me, bringing together this wonderful group of people to work on the first ‘solo’ show of my drawings since 2011.