Maggi Hambling: War Requiem and Aftermath

Interesting exhibition at the King’s College Inigo Rooms at Somerset House of work by Maggi Hambling.

I loved an installation called “War Requiem 2” which was a room playing Britten’s War Requiem with pictures of faces in spiralling paint  with two mirrors so you are included and a paint splattered chair. It had the effect of an explosion and victims on a battlefield.

Another room had the top of a well from the Suffolk coast with sounds coming out of it which was very atmospheric.

The final room contained her latest sculptures made in late summer 2013 as a follow up or “Aftermath” to her War Requiem pieces. These were found pieces of wood, remodelled, coated in plaster and then cast in bronze and painted. I liked the effect of these on mass in a large room.

All in all an innovative use of this space which can sometimes be quite awkward as it is made up of a corridor and small rooms.

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