ART CITIES:London-Adventitious Encounters

Mustafa Hulusi, Exstasy Almond Blossom, 2008, Oil on canvas, 213 cm x 305 cm, Courtesy the ArtistThe original Whiteleys department store was created by William Whiteley, In 1907, after his murder by Horace George Rayner, who claimed to be his illegitimate son, the board allowed the leases on the various Westbourne Grove properties to lapse and moved into a new purpose built store. The building was designed by John Belcher and John James Joass, and was opened in 1911. It appears in a number of early 20th-century novels, and in Shaw’s 1913 play “Pygmalion”.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Open Space Contemporary Archive

The group exhibition “Adventitious Encounters”, which presents 20 emerging and established contemporary artists, is held on the sky-roof of the historic and the soon to be demolished Whiteleys Shopping Centre, a space rarely open to the public. The exhibition explores the interwoven processes of human production and consumption in response to nature as an object of desire; a nature of which we are an intrinsic part. Nature’ is no longer pristine, we are now living through the Anthropocene, a time when human activity has begun contributing to failing ecosystems, rising sea-levels and climatic change. In turn, these negative effects are driving mass human migration; as a species, we are forced to re-think historical assumptions and the ways in which we register these dramatic changes, which are not only affecting the whole of humanity, but all existing planetary life. With respect to the building’s heritage, the exhibition invites the audience to experience multi-sensory stimulation, akin to William Whiteleys’s unrealised botanical vision. In its original design, the uppermost floor of the department store was organised around a dominant octagonal glass dome. This dome was envisaged to be at the center of an elegant garden, flanked by water ponds and reminiscent of classical orangeries; a distillation of nature in miniature.  Also the exhibition features a collaborative installation with Conservatory Archives and a programme of performances by Joshua Leon and Himali Singh Soin. Participating Artists: Volkan Aslan, Augustine Carr, Alex Flick, Mustafa Hulusi, Soojin Kang, Radhika Khimji, Anton Lapov, Joshua Leon, Kate McMillan, Sarah Meyohas, Suzanne Moxhay, Goia Mujalli, Alexandre Mussard, Samuel Padfield, Paloma Proudfoot, Anna Skladmann, Magda Skupinska, Himali Singh Soin, Sigrid Viir and Chloe Wise

Info: Curators: Huma Kabakcı and Anna Skladmann, Whiteleys Shopping Centre, 4th Floor, Queensway, London, Duration: 9-22/3/18, Days & Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, www.openspaceistanbul.co.uk

Mustafa Hulusi, Untitled (Ceyland Flower and Hand), 2005, Oil on canvas, 305 x 213 cm, Courtesy the Artist
Mustafa Hulusi, Untitled (Ceyland Flower and Hand), 2005, Oil on canvas, 305 x 213 cm, Courtesy the Artist

 

 

Left: Augustine Carr, Glanz, 2017, CNCed SikaBlock finished in Black, 115x97x97cm, Unique, Courtesy the Artist. Right: Sarah Meyohas, Fallen Speculation, 2017, Chromogenic Print, 152 x 101 cm, Courtesy the Artist
Left: Augustine Carr, Glanz, 2017, CNCed SikaBlock finished in Black, 115x97x97cm, Unique, Courtesy the Artist. Right: Sarah Meyohas, Fallen Speculation, 2017, Chromogenic Print, 152 x 101 cm, Courtesy the Artist

 

 

Anna Skladmann, Trilune - The Man With The Midas Touch, 2017, Chromogenic Print mounted on Aluminium, 149 x 111 cm Edition 1/3 plus 2 AP's, Courtesy the Artist
Anna Skladmann, Trilune – The Man With The Midas Touch, 2017, Chromogenic Print mounted on Aluminium, 149 x 111 cm Edition 1/3 plus 2 AP’s, Courtesy the Artist

 

 

Left: Volkan Aslan, There is a full moon, 2014, Found porcelain and ceramics statuettes, 23 x 16 x 10 cm, Courtesy the Artist and Pi Artworks London. Right: Goia Mujalli, Complex sunrise, 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 175 x 140 cm, Courtesy the Artist
Left: Volkan Aslan, There is a full moon, 2014, Found porcelain and ceramics statuettes, 23 x 16 x 10 cm, Courtesy the Artist and Pi Artworks London. Right: Goia Mujalli, Complex sunrise, 2017, Acrylic on canvas, 175 x 140 cm, Courtesy the Artist

 

 

Anna Skladmann, Empress of Ireland- The Man With The Midas Touch, 2017, Chromogenic Print mounted on Aluminium, 149 x 111 cm, Edition 1/3 plus 2 AP's, Courtesy the Artist
Anna Skladmann, Empress of Ireland- The Man With The Midas Touch, 2017, Chromogenic Print mounted on Aluminium, 149 x 111 cm, Edition 1/3 plus 2 AP’s, Courtesy the Artist

 

 

Chloe Wise, Rope that counts your jumps, 2017, Oil paint, urethane, antique candleholder, cowhide, 89 x 40,5 x 40,5 cm N/A, Courtesy the Artist
Chloe Wise, Rope that counts your jumps, 2017, Oil paint, urethane, antique candleholder, cowhide, 89 x 40,5 x 40,5 cm N/A, Courtesy the Artist

 

 

Anna Skladmann, Sir Winston Churchill - The Man With The Midas Touch, 2017, Chromogenic Print mounted on Aluminium, 149 x 111 cm, Edition 1/3 plus 2 AP's, Courtesy the Artist
Anna Skladmann, Sir Winston Churchill – The Man With The Midas Touch, 2017, Chromogenic Print mounted on Aluminium, 149 x 111 cm, Edition 1/3 plus 2 AP’s, Courtesy the Artist

 

 

Left: Alexandre Mussard, Le lac, 2017, Wood, brass, 44x39x39cm, 1/1, Courtesy the Artist. Right: Sigrid Viir, Awful Pretty Pipe Neck, 2016, Pigment print on aluminium on glazed tile stands, 5 + 2 AP, Courtesy the Artist
Left: Alexandre Mussard, Le lac, 2017, Wood, brass, 44x39x39cm, 1/1, Courtesy the Artist. Right: Sigrid Viir, Awful Pretty Pipe Neck, 2016, Pigment print on aluminium on glazed tile stands, 5 + 2 AP, Courtesy the Artist

 

 

Himali Singh Soin, 2017, Performance still, Courtesy the Artist; and Khoj International Artists Association
Himali Singh Soin, 2017, Performance still, Courtesy the Artist; and Khoj International Artists Association

 

 

Left: Soojin Kang, Pod 3 (detail), 2017, wild silk, linen, jute, hemp, cotton and wire, 240 x 150 x 130 cm, Photo credits: thishappened.xyz. Right: Alexandre Mussard, Le saint, 2017, Bronze, rattan, 145x83x30cm, 2/8, Courtesy the Artist
Left: Soojin Kang, Pod 3 (detail), 2017, wild silk, linen, jute, hemp, cotton and wire, 240 x 150 x 130 cm, Photo credits: thishappened.xyz. Right: Alexandre Mussard, Le saint, 2017, Bronze, rattan, 145x83x30cm, 2/8, Courtesy the Artist

 

 

Paloma Proudfoot, Uncoupling, 2017, Glazed stoneware, blackberries, Courtesy the Artist
Paloma Proudfoot, Uncoupling, 2017, Glazed stoneware, blackberries, Courtesy the Artist