Thank you to Shiquine for his very perceptive commentary on our show at the Stephen Lawrence Gallery, in South London Art Map

I post below an edited cutting from the South London Art Map (permission given). I thought the sensitive and perceptive response by Shiquine worth sharing, and celebrating.

Stephen Lawrence Gallery BLOG

I’m Shiquine; I’m a student at the Woolwich Poly School, doing a GCSE in Art.
I’m doing work experience at the Stephen Lawrence Gallery because I felt that I should do my work experience
in an area I would like to work in the future, I also felt that I should do something related to my interests.
While I have been here, the exhibition that was on was called ‘Being at the Edge: at the Edge of Being’.
It seems to me that this exhibit is about the different ways you can exploit artistic feeling.
For example, you don’t have to only use different types of media using your hands;
you could show your point in view on life through a sculpture or a video.
It shows how what you can do with art is limitless.
As I spent my days in the gallery, the exhibition showed me each piece
tells a story that has a beginning middle and end.
This can’t really be spotted out of the blue; you have to look at the art
really closely to see the significant quality in each piece.
It made me think that any time I’m doing a art piece I shouldn’t
just draw because I want to, I should draw,
but while I am doing this art piece I should also try to tell a story with it.

This art work (above) is made by Mat Osmond. My opinion on this piece is that

he makes it as if this animal wants to be a human being.

The way the rabbit can accomplish that is by doing things that humans

do in life for example making a book.

The artist incorporated a lot of feeling on this piece and also

incorporated a story into it. This piece has its own story.

This is just one of the pieces he had made.

This piece (above) by Kate Walters shows the bond between the animal and the human.

This artist tried to show how people’s characters may be portrayed within a animal.

This artist went back to her roots, like the ancient times just to like gain some

knowledge about the world back then what they used to believe in and what kind

of relationship they had between the animals and the plants and the rest of the living organisms.

That’s my opinion on what she must have done at the time to be able to paint this piece.

During my time in this exhibition, I’ve learned how the exhibition was laid out and how

it was decided that all of these artworks will fit in this exhibition. For example, the curator of the gallery,

who is David Waterworth, had to think about how all the art works link together and

how they all have their own way of expressing themselves.

Because the art gallery is in a small space, it had to be organized really well.

Being at the Edge: At the Edge of Being
Curated by Kate Walters and featuring:
Susan Bleakley – susanbleakley.org.uk
Karen Lorenz
Mat Osmond – www.dark-mountain.net/dm-mountaineers/mat-osmond
Kate Walters – www.millenniumgallery.co.uk  ;  katewalters.co.uk
Belinda Whiting – www.millenniumgallery.co.uk/belindawhiting/belindawhiting.htm

 

Sue Bleakley

 

ABOUT Stephen Lawrence Gallery

The Stephen Lawrence Gallery was established by the University of Greenwich in 2000.
The Gallery represents visual culture in its diversity through curated group exhibitions of
the work of contemporary visual practitioners from a range of disciplines and backgrounds.
The Gallery is open 9-5 Mondays to Fridays and 11-4 Saturdays.
It does not usually open on Sundays and Public Holidays.

CONTACT

The Stephen Lawrence Gallery
Queen Anne Court,
University of Greenwich,
Old Royal Naval College,
Park Row,
London SE10 9LS
020 8331 8260