Fed up with thick mud and not having a decent place to walk around that is mud-free and not streets of terraced houses, I ventured into central London to have a change of scenery for the first time in a month. My destination was Southbank where a "Winter Light" exhibition is currently on display around Southbank Centre. There are approximately thirty artworks on display with the focus and theme of "Winter Light". For those of you who are too far to travel to Southbank or those who are self-isolating, check out the images below, which are on display until the end of this month.
I visited the exhibition during the mid-afternoon in order to avoid the crowds, although I had to wait a short amount of time for the lights to come on. I did not have to wait long since the sky was dark and overcast throughout the whole day, so I was able to leave Southbank before it got too crowded. I was actually amazed that quite a few people were out on Southbank during this time. Anyway, the photographs and a short description of the work is below.
"From the series 'No Such Organisation', 2018-2020" by Navine G. Khan-Dossos
On display in front of Haywood Gallery are several paintings from a group of one hundred that the artist, Khan-Dossos, has created based on themes of technology, surveillance, and freedom of speech. The artworks are a series of graphical and geometrical illustrations created with bright colours and patterns. Look closer at the artwork to pick apart symbols.
"Total Collapse" by Toby Ziegler
Tony Ziegler uses mixed media (painting, sculpture, video) to create artwork. "Total Collapse" shows an abstract landscape, and it was created using a "ghost file" (corrupted file) that was recovered from the artist's first computer after fifteen years. The recovered file was transformed into a painting that was then defaced with an electric sander. The bold lines and patterns of this artwork fits in with the Southbank Centre's architecture.
"Slugs on the Cabbage of Bliss" by Toby Ziegler
The second artwork by Toby Ziegler is located in a window and features a sculpture that is a rendition of a computer-generated landscape that was painted by hand with Japanese ink on Shoji paper. The title of the artwork is inspired by a quote that the artist's grandfather would use. The landscape is made to feel like an alternative universe or a computer game.
"Counter Void-S-I" by Tatsuo Miyajima
This lightbox sculpture can display all numbers between zero and nine, which are counters used by the artist to mark the passage of time. The countdown never reaches zero, but it cycles through the other numbers.
"Reflect" by Martin Richman
Martin Richman has created this commission for Southbank Centre located on Level 5 of the Royal Festival Hall, and it uses waves of colour and light to create a sense of movement. It was inspired by the Thames.
"Capped" by Simon Barclay
Simon Barclay has created a neon artwork with the likeness of cartoon character Andy Capp. The artist used the image to fit a personality who cannot emphasise with others or who looks at the world with a closed mind. The artwork speaks about some attitudes in Britain today where people refuse change, resist progress, and look too fondly on the past.
"We Are In This Together" by Tavares Strachan
This artwork was inspired by a project in Colorado that took place five years ago and focused on housing, climate, food, immigration, and education for the community. The phrase "we are in this together" expresses the sense of shared purpose and community of people in this town in Colorado. The same challenges face areas and humans everywhere, and the artist created the artwork to establish the sense of unity.
"Once upon a time, a time that never was and always is" by Louiza Ntourou
This short film focuses on nature and life. It is minimal in style and focuses on a single leaf hanging on a tree, caught in an invisible spider's web. The music that accompanies the film is big band style from a different era, and it's a relaxing and nostalgic series of images.
Dawood's artwork depicts one of the Tibetan gods. This god is used to overcome obstacles and represents compassion. The god is created with neon light, which is important in this artwork because colour and light are positive and come after darkness.
"supercalifragilistic" by Kota Ezawa
Kota Ezawa uses colour and flat imagery to create artwork inspired by popular culture and events. This artwork features a never-ending fictional character "Mary Poppins" landing at a runway.
"Unseen" by Suzie Larke
Suzie Larke creates photographic images by editing them digitally to transform everyday portraits into surrealist portraits. The images shown depict individuals who are coping and struggling, and this series looks particularly at mental wellbeing and isolation. This series of photographs hopes to raise awareness on the subject of mental wellbeing.
"Birds, Freedom, 2020" by Emma Talbot
This short animation depicts a female figure exploring an abstract and colourful landscape. The film invites us to explore with the character.
"To the Moon" by Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum
This short animation is inspired by the early science fiction film "A Trip to the Moon", which was released in 1902. The animation depicts a celestial journey with an image of the moon and a figure planting stars in the sky.
"Noste" by Teemu Maattanen
These columns of light were not switched on when I visited, but the artwork is meant to depict a series of colours projected onto the columns to create its own space.
"Sixty Minute Spectrum" by David Batchelor
This artwork has been on top of the Hayward Gallery and Queen Elizabeth Hall for a few years now, transforming the rooftop space into a pyramid of colours that gradually cycle through all of the colours in the colour spectrum in sixty minutes.
"Freefall" by James Carr
Cultural identity and society are subjects that James Carr focuses on, and "Freefall" is created using coloured light filters to create floating forms of light. The subjects of the work use visual language in animation and comic books to provide movement and motion.
"Totality" by Katie Paterson
Katy Paterson's artwork is characterised by using nature and beauty. In "Totality", an orb appears to be a planet or a disco ball to highlight a series of solar eclipses. They reflect off of the other walls. Unfortunately, due to a group of people lighting smoke bombs and fireworks in front of the artwork, I was unable to get a good photograph of it.
"A Solo" by Tala Madani
Tala Madani's artwork often appears to be film stills showing characters with a sense of motion. The figures are abstract, allowing the viewer to make up their own narrative. "A Solo" shows a ghostly figure slumped in a chair. The viewer must choose the narrative.
"Loomin, 2020" by David Ogle
David Ogle uses light and sculpture to transform public spaces. This installation along Queen's Walk on the Thames allows the artist to use the natural forms of the trees to create the neon sculptures. They transform the space that they occupy, adapting to it and rising above the heads of pedestrians walking underneath.
Text artwork by Jini Reddy
Jini Reddy's artwork is a series of texts across the Southbank Centre site. The artworks focus on the theme of winter light. Reddy, born in London to South African parents with Indian heritage, grew up in Canada. Now based in London, the artist started her career in publishing and journalism and has contributed to digital media. She has been shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize and contributed to the best-selling anthology "Winter" (2016) and is contributing toward the new book "Women on Nature", which is to be released this year. The above shows the texts across the Southbank site that I discovered, although there was one that I could not get a photograph of due to items partially obscuring it.
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