On a whim yesterday afternoon, suddenly finding I had a free afternoon and not wanted to spend it indoors in front of a screen (like I am doing now, oh the irony!) I hopped on a bus and headed down to Bermondsey High Street. I specifically wanted to catch the Kaffe Fassett show at The Fashion and Textile Museum because it finishes next week (last day 12th March) and I wasn't sure I'd have another window of opportunity.
A marvelous riot of controlled color and clashing patterns that just works.
Interesting to note the demographic in there yesterday – mostly women over 50 and gay men...!
But even if you don't fit into those two categories, or you have never picked up a needle and thread, I think you are sure to find this inspirational in some way.
Bermondsey has changed a lot since the first time I visited this road, its local high street, back in the early 1980s when a work friend lived nearby. The area was run down and grubby – dilapidated buildings and disused warehouses intermingled with social housing blocks. The warehouses and old factory buildings, the high street shops too, have since been snapped up at low prices, converted into offices and residential spaces, hence how large developments such as Zandra Rhodes and Jay Jopling were able to afford to establish themselves there, both creating bespoke environments. It's all very 'nice' there now. Shops full of trinkets, coffee bars, designer pizza, all the old pubs converted into gastrohubs.
And so to JJ's White Cube gallery. I really like this space. It's like The Tardis in there, as in it seems so much bigger when you walk inside than it appears from the exterior, which, to those not aware that this is a gallery, looks more like a functional space, or a distribution hub within a car park. It certainly does not shout "come on in and see some art – it's free to enter!"
What I really like in here is the vastness of it. The long corridor as you enter and that fabulous highly-polished concrete floor that reflects the artworks on display and also the light sources from above.
Here are some pics of what's on at the moment (until 26th March).
That's me bottom right.
