Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting exhibition at Tate Britain marking this year’s Turner Prize for contemporary art. It showcased the four quite different finalists and yet I felt they were looking at quite similar themes. The show started with Pio Abad who had investigated and reacted to items in Oxford museums acquired during the colonial era. The work was beautiful and layered in meaning.   I was intrigued to find one work was inspired by the fact he lives in the Grand Stores of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich which served as the primary storage facility for the military equipment of the British Army and Navy. My flat overlooks them!   Next was Jasleen Kaur’s installations using objects with reflect her multicultural childhood in Glasgow. Who can resist an oversized doillie on a Ford Escort. Then came another installation artist, Delaine Le Bas, exploring their culture, in this case Roma people, with ethereal crepe and a silver room. I’m not sure I really understood it. Finally there were ...

Eclectic exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery of objects and archive material relating to the shared life and experiences of artists Delaine Le Bas and her late husband Damian Le Bas and their perspective as English Romani Gypsy Travellers. This was arranged like an installation with a mix of objects making up collages and interior settings. I loved the way drawings had been enlarged to cover the windows. I’d not seen that done in the archive space before. I loved the addition of a working record player and a selection of records the artists had played. It felt nostalgic to spin a single again. It was a wonderful way to show two lives and careers. I didn’t know either of their work but I’ll be looking out for it. Closed 31 May 2023