Cathy's Art Diary

Baffling exhibition at Somerset House by Sonya Dyer. The work consisted of a two screen video called Action>Potential which I’m afraid did nothing for me. The commentary said the character “Andromeda is trying to return home to her galaxy after unexpectedly finding herself in a science lab, where she comes across a rogue mitochondria named Lucy”. Evidently it also “metaphorically embodies the reclamation of the neglected stories of Black women of science and mythology”. Sorry but all of that passed me by. It was shown with a large scale sculpture of a mitochondria which oozed between rooms via a fireplace. I thought it was effective in the space and suitably weird. Closed 12 November 2023

Strange exhibition at Somerset House of work by artists in the Somerset House Studios residency. This was the fourth show in a series highlighting the work of the residency artists. This one was curated by Stella Sideli and it “considers the temporary synchronicity between people, bodies, sounds and signals”. No I don’t understand either! My favourite piece was by Abbas Zahedi and consisted of a kick drum pedal against the gallery door with some sort of digital acoustic effect so that when you pressed the pedal it made a noise. This was accompanied by a tiny digital print of a brussels sprout over the door. I’ve no idea what it meant but it was fun and interactive. I liked Joe Namy’s curtain shown here which broke up the space. Again I have no idea what it was about and reading the rather dense handout, which I kept, doesn’t help. The other two works by Phoebe Davies and Sonya Dyer were video pieces and I wish I’d had more time to watch them properly, particularly the one by D...