Gallery-Hopping.

It is truly amazing how even when the odds make it close to impossible to do anything out of your ordinary, your thirst for adventure and recent lack of says otherwise. And by odds, I mean the infamously awful London weather- wet, dark and gloomy. The perfect recipe for the undebatable decision to stay curled up in your bed, ignore your assignments and binge on a Netflix show you finished, like, three months ago?

It didn’t take much for me to hop into the Flowers Gallery despite all the above. Sat in the heart of Shoreditch, a town adorned with walls of alluring graffiti and alternatively-styled youthful inhabitants, you can’t help but wonder- what on earth is going on behind that stupidly large glass door? I had to take ten steps across the road (a complete detour from my initial journey to London Bridge) and found out miraculously how curiousity doesn’t really kill the cat but in fact, it just leads it to some pretty dope ass art work.

Like any contemporary art gallery, squinting is highly advised. I think it's safe to say that regular 'gallery-hoppers' know how to squish their eye balls so tightly, their eyes could come out. Painful? Yes. Unnecessary? You tell me- wouldn't you rather properly inspect intricate details of fifty artefacts projecting the eerie thoughts and colourfully racing imagination of fifty random people? The gallery's submissions take it a step further, or might I say stricter, with each of its pieces for this exhibition being 50 x 50- a very intentional scheme to loudly commemorate its fiftieth anniversary.

Did that sound like a jumble of words? Let’s sprinkle some clarity on this.

The art is like pole dancing. It is dangerous, not universally practised and thus does put some limitations to understanding but you can’t deny that it is stunning to look at. The pieces feel as if they’re in constant movement, perhaps as a way to emulate the vibrancy of where the gallery is situated in.

But boy was there silence. And A lot of it. I’ve never really understood why small galleries reserve music-playing for opening nights or special events only. Though the silence does encourage discussions or networking amongst gallery-visitors, as well as undisturbed mental analysis on the pieces, a little rhythm might be nice. Just a little.

Would it be cheeky to suggest that contemporary galleries consider creating playlists curated with recommendations by the artists they work with? Yes, in some cases, the art is loud enough but music?

Music could potentially triple the experience.

Let me know what you think :)

#art#gallery#discovery

*For more information on the gallery's exhibitions or to find out about the exact pieces in this post, check out their website: https://www.flowersgallery.com/exhibitions/235-50-x-50/

*Pictures taken by myself.

signed by yours truly, LAO.