The Basement

Group exhibition Wearing Potentiality is happening at London’s Paradise Row, as part of its The Basement exhibition program for emerging artists running concurrently with the main program, opening May 16 and running to June 28.

Curated by Attilia Fattori Franchini and featuring UK-based artists Matt Ager, Laura Aldridge, James Clarkson, Hannah Lees and Dominic Watson, the exhibition looks at the idea of ‘potentiality’ “not as the future actualisation of an idea, but as the formless status of becoming”.

Focussing on processes rather than results, the artists resist the urge to reification by the act of ‘culture-making’ as the verb it clearly is through the unprecedented possibilities of new technologies.

The show also comes with a text written by Marie D’Elbee, which goes as follows:

“SO I WAS LIKE STARIN AT DE WATER U KNOW
AND I WAS LIKE … MAN … WATER IS SO BEAUTIFUL
ITS LIKE … HOW U SAY … SHIMMERIN …
AND I THOUGH … MAN … I JUST WANNA GET LOST IN DER
AND DE SUN WAS GOIN DOWN U KNOW
AND DE SKY WAS SPREADIN ITS COLOURS
LIKE A COCKTAIL FROM HEAVEN
TWAS SO BEAUTIFUL ME EYES STILL WEEP
AND DEN DE STARS WER SHININ ON ME
A MILLION STARS TWINKLIN OVER ME HEAD
T WAS LIKE DIVIN INTO ME BABYS EYES
AND ALL ALONG I WAS TINKIN …
MAN … I JUST WANNA GET LOST …
I JUST WANNA GET LOST IN DER”

See the Paradise Row website for details. **

Dominic Watson, 'European Hero' (2014). Leather Jacket, LED's, 9-Inch Nail, Coat Hanger. — Dominic Watson, ‘European Hero’ (2014). Image courtesy the artist and Paradise Row.

Johann Arens is presenting a solo show, Internet Centre & Habesha Grocery, at Paradise Row‘s Basement, December 12.

If you’ve ever been witness to (or a part of) corporate crawl that sees local business move on, you’ll know that one of the first things to go with the stream of gentrification is the internet cafe. In tribute to one closed in June, Arens presents an installation of the remains of the Internet Centre & Habesha Grocery interior, among standard exhibition furniture and including instructional printouts in display cases, dysfunctional computer terminals and deteriorating furniture:

“As visitors browse the desktops and trash bins of the antiquated personal computers, they will build up an insight into the lives of Internet Centre & Habesha Grocery’s customers through curriculum vitae print outs, long distance coach-tickets, pictures of property for rent, lovenotes, snapshots, a business ad for a pedicure salon.”

See the Paradise Row website for details. **

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Wearing Potentiality @ Paradise Row, May 16 – Jun 28

Johann Arens @ The Basement, Dec 12