Art

A short rave about Rachel Whiteread

It would be easy to call her a one trick pony really, in the dismissive way that I might refer to the formulaic ideas of Ai Wei Wei. This idea of negative space, of preserving an absence, runs through everything. I remember in 2011 or thereabouts, she was one of a…

Thoughts on The Guardian’s cancellation of Lyn Gardner’s blog contract

If you’re reading this you’ve probably seen already; Lyn Gardner’s contract at The Guardian will change as of the 1st April. She will continue to write and review as their second-string critic covering much…

Anselm Kiefer

Walhalla

I hadn’t even heard of Anselm Kiefer until everyone started raving about his RAA retrospective in 2014, but walking through that exhibition felt like having my insides shredded with light. It dawned on me, still halfway round, what a strange phenomenon it must…

Some original pop art I bought

At Battersea Car Boot today, I spent £4 on an original piece of pop art from 1997. Consisting of 5 limited edition Spice Girls crisp packets (Walkers, cheese and chive flavour), each lovingly mounted on a backing painted with red acrylic, these were sold to me direct from…

Up&Down&Through

Gunshots and starlight

The week that Britain voted to leave the EU, Jimmy Cauty’s Aftermath Dislocation Principle — a tabletop scene of a post-riot capitalism, the lights of Chicken Cottage shining through dust and streetlamp glare — was parked outside my office. It had previously been on full display at…