London is rife with amazing art and culture. Here are just some exhibitions happening across the next month or two that you need to check out. (For free)
The Liminal Space: Unclaimed
The Barbican Centre, Barbican
‘Unclaimed’ is the new exhibition by The Liminal Space located at the Barbican. The project provides a space for the important and often unheard narratives about ageing – especially in a time where society obsesses with staying young and being preoccupied with the elements of online life. The exhibition itself allows visitors to explore genuine items found in the lost property office and discover the many stories that these seemingly insignificant items hold. Join in the much needed discussion on how we engage with ageing as individuals and as a wider society.
Hanna Moon & Joyce Ng: English as a Second Language
Somerset House, Temple
Running till the second week of April (08/04), the Terrace Rooms series introduces the work of Hanna Moon and Joyce Ng, Asian-born artists who studied at London’s Central St. Martins. The exhibition includes a series of high end fashion photography to quirky street photos that challenge the ‘whiter-than-white’ face of the art and fashion industry. This is a must see exhibition for those with a keen interest in the construction of identity and the power of fashion and art.
Graces Wales Bonner: A Time for New Dreams
Serpentine Sackler Gallery, Hyde Park
This exhibition explores the use of identity and self-expression in fashion and different medias. The show takes its title from Ben Okri’s collection of essays, ‘A Time for New Dreams (2011) and focuses on the use of the shrine to symbolise the reimagining of possibilities and cultural worlds. Wales Bonner captures the spiritual importance of shrines in black histories as well as incorporating the rituals and ceremonies from around the world in this art installation. She crosses lines across cultures, time and space and presents her research and findings in her work.
Tracey Emin: A Fortnight of Tears
White Cube Bermondsey, The Borough
Everyone knows Tracey Emin. And everyone knows her statement art pieces. In her new exhibition, ‘A Fortnight of Tears’, Emin displays a window into the vulnerability of the human experience and translates these emotions aesthetically in photographs, sketches and sculptures. The struggles of life are laid bare for all to witness including dealing with the complexity of human emotions such as anger, sadness and misery. That being said, the show presents these intricacies in only a way Emin can.
Don McCullin
Tate Britain, Westminster
Esteemed British photographer Don McCullin is well known for his raw, stark and hard hitting images caught in moments of conflict across Vietnam, The Congo and Northern Ireland to name a few. McCullin’s exhibition at the Tate is an emotional documentation of his legendary career and highlights some of the most harrowing events he has witnessed across the last 60 years. The exhibition itself does not only present McCullin’s work from war and his stunning street photography from around London, but also ignites conversation surrounding the role of documented media in our current political and social discourse. (Please note that this is a difficult exhibition to observe.)