“Miss Fish says hello!”
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This week
💦 kartell gnome stools, diptyque candles and a spiderman poster
💦 high on cough syrup?
💦 free advice for the reckless and gullible
Events
Arcadia Missa’s group show curated with Galerina promises to be the sceniest event of the week, see you at the afters at Bola 8 for a twirl xoxo
🧊 18 Apr | 6:45pm | An Evening with Bruce LaBruce, Rich Mix [Shoreditch]
🧊 19 Apr | 6–8pm | Jonny Izatt-Lowry: and the smoke from a cigarette, Cooke Latham Gallery [Imperial Wharf]
🧊 19 Apr | 7pm | Cure, Kyoshi Kurosawa (1997), Film Screening at Rose Easton, reserve a seat via info@roseeaston.com [Bethnal Green]
🧊 19 Apr | 7–8:30pm | Artist Talk: Pilvi Takala, Goldsmiths CCA, Free tickets here [New Cross Gate]
🧊 20 Apr | 6–8pm | Kimathi Donkor, Niru Ratnam [Oxford Circus]
🧊 21 Apr | 6–8pm Ways of Living 3.0, including works by Hannah Black, Gretchen Lawrence and Coumba Samba, among others, Galerina x Arcadia Missa [Bond Street] | Afterparty 9pm–3am @ Bola 8, SE17 1LB
🧊 22 Apr | 10pm–4am | Spiral Jetty, club night organised by Jack O’Brien, Avalon Cafe, tickets £5 here [Surrey Quays]
🧊 22 Apr | 3pm–6pm | Colin Dodgson x World Land Trust book launch, Young Space 85-87 Southgate Road, N1 3JS [Haggerston]
🧊 22 Apr | 6–9pm | It’s Not the Heat, It’s the Dust, Grove London [Imperial Wharf]
🧊 22 Apr | 6–9pm | Laila Majid: Things to Come, Finissage, Harlesden High Street [Harlesden]
Exhibition of the Week
Group Show, curated by Kane Le Bain, Project Space, 14 Trafalgar Mews, Hackney Wick, information here
“Who is he?” “Where’s he from?” and “What’s his real name?” were just a few of the questions on the lips of curious friends in anticipation of the inaugural gallery show by Kane Le Bain (aka Samuel Selby). The gallery – ironically titled Project Space – is located in YBA Sue Webster’s studio, for this exhibition at least. We don’t know much about this elusive long-haired figure, but his Insta evidences a penchant for skateboarding, visits to Soho House with Gilbert & George, getting blocked by writer-and-NFT-peddler Kenny Schachter, and vox-popping terrified locals in Bristol in an interview series titled ‘Banksy or Pransky’.
Titled Group Show (geddit?) the exhibition included a plethora of works by 22 artists working across many different tangents of the art world – from legends like Jake Chapman, to young artists-to-watch like Ruby Eve Dickson, and Palace Skateboards-founder Lev Tanju. Painter Jamiu Agboke’s name even appears on the poster twice, we have no idea why… No particularly cohesive line of curatorial thought obviously presented itself and, honestly, we doubt that was the point. Despite Le Bain’s prankster attitude, the show included some serious and heavy-hitting works: video artist Theo Ellison showed a two-channel film of animated birds thinking about how Romanticism (the 19th-century philosophical movement responding to the Industrial Revolution by emphasising individuality, nature, and personal artistic expression) can be understood today, in light of new forms of omnipotent fledgling technology increasingly encroaching on our lives.
Photographer Nick Waplington showed a moving work depicting a shrine for Jean Charles De Menezes, a man shot from behind by UK police who mistakenly thought he was a terrorist. A new discovery for us was LA artist Gbenga Komolafe, who showed a pair of sculptures crafted from leather (we think) to resemble pierced and scarred human faces. Another highlight was Ruby Dickson’s portrait of Pamela Anderson. Because, well, Pamela Anderson. It was also great to see a neon by rising star Steph Huang and one of receipt artist Jonathan Monk’s iconic restaurant drawings. Despite some last-minute-art-handling from Sue’s (adorable) toddler Spider, the opening got off to a lively start. Yet most intriguing was Le Bain’s front desk situation. Avoiding art-world tropes like reproduction Prouve and Perriand furniture, the gallerist had moved his bedroom possessions into the gallery, essentially building a shrine to himself. A vintage porn collection (gay and straight), Kartell gnome stools, Diptyque candles and Spiderman posters were among the many objects strewn across a kilim rug by the entrance. Few curators are prepared to reveal their home realities in such candid detail and we commend Le Bain for his efforts to be real. We’re looking forward to seeing what’s next in this curious space.
Hot Links
🎸“Sonically, it’s about as smooth as glass in a blender” – The Independent, giving the people what they want, have interviewed hyperpop originators, 100 gecs. The writer Annabel Nugent muses ‘a third of their answers follow this format: a deadpan in-joke disguised as an earnest response. Or maybe it is earnest? Only they know.’
🍏“The deeper the self realisation of a man the more he influences the whole universe by his subtle spiritual vibrations” – Who knew Steve Jobs forced all attendees of his memorial service to take home a copy of the 1940s guru bible, Autobiography of A Yogi? Nope, we didn’t either. From Steve Jobs being a homeless bare-foot spiritualist nutter in his youth, to Russel Brand’s neurotic shenanigans, this podcast is a must listen if you’re wondering why everyone is obsessed with generally mindless opinion leaders on the internet.
🕴️“Then again, does Lachlan even want the throne?” – In a Succession-esque turn of events, a mole in Richard Murdoch’s inner circle spills the beans on a chaotic 12 months for the 92-year-old conservative media baron... Drama! It also gets pretty dark at times, reporting things like Murdoch ‘encouraged Trump to appoint judges who would overturn Roe v. Wade’... so dark.
🐕“My career as a professional poo-scraper began about a decade ago. Did a better side hustle exist?” – A hilarious, very much NEEDED, first-person account of life Dog Sitting For The Rich in gorgeous, sterile NYC apartments that cost upward of $20,000 a month to rent, ha ha, for the New York Times.
⚡“‘You are Balenciaga, Harry,’ Hagrid says, instead of breaking the news that Harry is a wizard.” – spittle-fave Kyle Chayka explores ‘a newfound ability of A.I. to “create filmlike moments”’ in the New Yorker.
🌸“cute portraits of anime teens” – Photographer Betty Oxlade Martin goes to comic-con to capture ‘a group of dreamers finding comfort in fantasy lands’ and the resulting images are adorableeeee xo
Add-to-cart
Few interior design mags stray from colonial boho or sanitised mid-century-esque aesthetics, so we are REALLY looking forward to reading Jermaine Gallacher, Rory Gleeson and Ted Stansfield’s new mag Ton. One killer shoot by friend of the ‘sletter Roxy Lee is of London’s original bohemian Dave Baby’s pad xo Available here.
Parting Shot
News broke last week that Florida-based collectors Steven and Lisa Tanenbaum’s Damien Hirst sculpture had been ‘destroyed’ in a car crash. News report comments sections suggest that, unsurprisingly, the public are not particularly sympathetic to a $3 million sculpture being run over by a soft-top Rolls Royce. Cue some of the best comments we’ve found on Twitter and the Daily Mail – hand-picked by yours truly so you don’t have to worry about affording those Murdoch f*ckers any ad revenue!!!!