Filed under: the wasp room
Sam Dargan – More Work For The Undertaker
12th November – 6th December, 2009
Thursday – Sunday, 1-6pm
Image: 20's 30's Powderkeg Europe!
Private View: Tuesday 10th November, 6-8pm
Tether are delighted to present Sam Dargan’s first solo exhibition in Nottingham, ‘More Work For The Undertaker’ at The Wasp Room.
Often responding to cinematic imagery and 20th Century literature as well as popular culture (referencing the music of the Fall and Half Man Half Biscuit amongst others) and more recently the melancholy and underlying savagery of photographic reportage, Dargan’s paintings are infused with contemporary commentary. Reminiscent of imagery seen in daily newspapers and depicting scenes and props from unrealised revolutions, these fragmented narratives are packed with hostility; commenting in part on the imbalance of power systems and the inherent paranoia that imbues conspiracy theories.
Disillusioned and listless revolutionaries linger in numb resignation, whilst abused figures in the aftermath of physical harm fathom their lot. Often bound, gagged, bruised or scarred, they exist in a world in which meaning has been lost and ideals have failed. Though their plight is tragic, it is not without a sense of humour. Like Mel Brooks once said “Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall down an open manhole cover and die”.
For the exhibition, Dargan will be presenting a mixture of new and old works and a specially produced limited edition publication, which will be available from the gallery during the private view, or upon request.
Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Filed under: .Tether, Benjamin Hargrave, Hugh Dichmont, Liam Aitken, Samuel Mercer, the wasp room | Tags: .Tether, 2009, art, event, Exhibition, gallery, nottingham, tether studios, the wasp room
Murder in The Kremlin
May 30th – June 14th
Private View : May 29th, 6-8pm followed by The Art Crawl
For the third and final show in the Wasp Room gallery’s inaugural season of exhibitions, Tether present ‘Murder in the Kremlin’; a tale of espionage, paranoia and death.
In this age of 24‐hour CCTV, where our daily lives are increasingly recorded, newspapers manufacture stories to sell copies and satellite news channels do
anything to keep us watching, who can we trust anymore? Amidst the paranoia and propaganda how can we hope for a simple answer?
With a story slowly unraveling before us, we piece together all we can to make sense of what we see. All that we know for sure is that we are in troubled times.
Collaborating on this large multi‐faceted group installation, Tether will use a variety of methods and media to create frozen moments, or episodes, in an untold narrative, with shades of the Hollywood thriller.
Supported by The National Lottery through Arts Council England and Nottingham Brewery
Filed under: the wasp room | Tags: 2009, anthony peskine, Exhibition, gallery, nottingham, the wasp room
The Wasp Room is pleased to present ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’, the first UK exhibition by Parisian artist Anthony Peskine.
Adopting and adapting the visual languages of advertising campaigns and with a keen sense of the absurd, Peskine’s work is concerned with the predicament of the loser, and how promises are rarely fulfilled.
Peskine seeks to satirise the way in which aspiration and hope are exploited as a manipulative device. He uses his own disappointment and disillusionment to drive a varied artistic practice that ranges from painting and photography, to text pieces, video works and installations.
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