Banksy film - was the joke on the viewer or the art world?

I must admit I'm not the biggest Banksy fan now a days. I enjoyed his rat army years ago and thought it was funny and quite clever. But now it seems he's become kind of a one trick pony. Not to say he doesn't do the trick amazingly well, but why take it so seriously?

So I went to see Exit Through the Gift Shop last night to try and get what all the fuss is about. I was immediately struck by the fact that the only way to get a ticket was by creditcard and presenting your ticket and card at the door, so already you are bound by convention and slotted into a system. Once in I was amused by all the middle aged patrons in suits taking photographs of everything they could find to photograph. The installations were puns I had come across already, or seen other artists do many times before so as always struck me as pedestrian. Apart from the wiggling sausages in aquariums, I liked them when he first did them and think they're funny. But maybe not for the right reasons in this particular instance, they reminded my of perverted old men sitting in the back of darken theatres, nuff said? For a disused railway arch and pop up theatre the space was amazingly well lit, warm and middle class comfy, I was at least expecting and secretly hoping it would be a bit harder, colder, less inviting after all its a railway arch that's why I like going into them. I suppose health and safety got there first. Then there was the refreshments van, selling wine and tiny boxes of pop corn, I'm sure every box sold will be cherished by punters in years to come and every ticket stub will be carefully framed and may end up on eBay one day in the not too distant future. So this is what the film is about is it?

Into the theatre... I expected to be among the oldest in the audience (now I'm no teenager anymore) but to my surprise I was probably one of the youngest, not to say that people over a certain age can't enjoy art and film, but graffiti is supposed to be about youth and rebellion isn't it... No not really... it's about marketing, celebrity and sell out shows now. I'll not go into too much of what I though about the film itself as it's much of the same. I should have known that I was in the wrong place, when I had to cringe as two well dressed h&m ladies settled down in front of us with a bottle of white wine and two dainty wine glasses, next to the couple with their M&S picnic. Through out the film they all burst out in punctuations of laughter at "the correct places" As I struggled to stay awake - I failed to find it quite as funny, rather than the cynical and bitter. At the end a civilised round of applause... bottles and glasses were collected and patrons stumbled out of their seats to take more photographs and feel a part of the art or were we being forced to be the art, part of the joke? I did catch a faint whiff of weed as I exited, the one faint hint of "rebellion", maybe it was my imagination, or maybe I just longed for a nice relaxing joint after two long hours.

One positive is that as always the railway arches never fail to carry sound and make for an excellent space to carry something off, I like the bricks and sound of the train and vibrating as they go by. And I definitely felt that something was carried off along with my ticket money and two hours of my life I'll never get back. The joke was on us silly suckers for falling into the hype machine.

I'm off now to go and have a long shower and hopefully wash off this dirty feeling.

Up Next: Danger: an exhibition - 4th to 7th March, Rag Factory, Brick Lane, London

DANGER: an exhibition

The Rag Factory
Heneage Street - off Brick Lane, E1

Private view Thursday 4th March from 6 - 10pm

Runs 12 - 6pm Friday 5th til Sunday 7th March

Curated by Kate Wiggs.

Exhibiting artists:

Sonya Chenery, Joanna Austin, Liam Herne, Adam Fearon, Kate Williams, Robin Clare, Chloe Bardolf-Smith Uden, Juan DelGado, Charlie Hurcombe, Paul Kindersley, Jemma Watts, Razvan Anton, Anne Kermarrec, Kevin O'Keefe, Mick Bateman, Victoria Lucas, Martin O'Brien, Adam Dembski Bowden, Mathias Tujague, Marianna & Daniel O'Reilly,

Hot off the Easel - Wet Dreams

Wet dreams, Acrylic on Paper, 50cm x 40cm

Sweet and Sound - Online Arts and Music Magazine

My work has been added to the pages of Sweet and Sound a very cool online Arts and Music mag I've been following for a few months now. Check it out here: www.sweetandsound.co.uk

Project Preview ... Wet Dreams to come

I've been busy working on my newest series inspired by my Jamaican homeland. The project is meant to be an examination and personal interpretation of popular Jamaican culture. Taking inspiration from old time sayings, modern slang and the ever inventive and popular street party and dance hall scene which never fails to offer up some most excellent content such as Cleavage Refill (the bestest ever street party name), Wet Dreams, Kinky Mini Skirt and High Hells Edition and danced like the Dutty Wine and the now outlawed Daggering.

Here are some of the completed images painted and stencilled with acrylic and ink:

Doorway to Dignity Art Trail and Auction to bring sanitation to the 3rd world

I'm taking part in the Doorway to Dignity Art Trail which is organised by the charity Where Ever The Need to raise money for the cause of bringing sanitation and clean water to third world countries.

The art trail will be up for public viewing throughout the city of Bath from 16th February to 28th February, 2010. Then all works will go off to auction.

A Trail Map can be viewed and downloaded as a pdf at www.doorwaytodignity.org/trail.php

'It's Not Funny' exhibition photos

The 'It's Not Funny' show is Leeds was a great success below are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

here's a link to some more opening night photos http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=146333&id=238363768813

Also this is the bio they wrote for me it's fantastic!

What does your junk say about you? How can our unloved appliances paint a picture of our lives? These are the questions raised by Robin Clare in her works, “Stand and Deliver” and “Time Waits for No Machine”, which are exhibited at MAP gallery. Working from drawings and photographs of found objects, Clare focuses on the various ways these discarded items can reveal something deeper about the society from which they were ejected. Whilst a fridge or washing machine dumped in the countryside can appear amusingly out of place, Clare creates pieces which equally reveal their vulnerability as homeless objects; victims of the world of consumerism.

The works are created using a number of techniques, from bright-coloured painting to stencilled patterns, whilst texts from popular culture, news headlines, as well as everyday phrases add to the playful narrative. As a result, the viewer is invited to engage in various discourses created by a juxtaposition of text and discarded objects. Both humour and the image quietly subvert, as the odd and amusing aspects of the displaced objects become a harsh reminder of our impact on the world. The works, with their bold colours and lettering, echo the advertising style implemented in the Pop Art tradition, acting as a commentary on our materialistic ‘throw-away’ culture today. Maybe the joke’s on us.


'It's Not Funny' was a week long show at the MAP Gallery in Leeds from Jan 28th to Feb 4th 2010, curated by Claire Brentnall and Gaia Rosenberg Colorni with work by Robin Clare, Doug Fishbone, Aoife Flynn, Josephine Flynn, Thom Green, Suzan Inceer, Simon Lewandowski, Angela Lizon, Louise Thomas, Branka Vidovic-Butler, Johnny White.