Cathy's Art Diary

Quirky exhibition at the Newport Street Gallery featuring work by Damian Hirst, Shepard Fairley and Invader. Fairley and Invader are both street artists and I'll admit I'm not very knowledgeable on street art so I didn't know their work, however this exhibition shows their work alongside collaborations between both of them and Hirst. At times it felt like an amusing mickey take of each other such as this work by Hirst and Invader using the latter's iconic symbol. Works included butterfly pictures and different takes on Hirst's spot pictures.   I would have liked a bit more explanation, but I gather this comes in an interview with the artists in the accompanying catalogue but I'd afraid I wasn't up for a big purchase. Evidently there was an extract in a free exhibition newspaper but as I went in the last week there was no sign of these. Closed 29 March 2026 Review Guardian

Colourful installation on the Strand outside Somerset House by Simone Brewster. The work had been part of London Design Week which I’d missed and commented on the future of the cork industry. I must admit I’m not sure how other than that the large sculptures were covered in coloured cork. The blurb said that “the future of the cork oak forest will be secured by four key traits: upright expression, drought resistance, regenerative growth and biodiversity conservation.” Each work was meant to reflect one of these traits but I don’t really understand that link. Still the works looked great in the space! Closed 8 October 2023  

Fascinating residency at King’s College, Bush House, by Italian street artist Ozmo. There was a nice display of his previous work which I found a useful introduction. He combines classical and Renaissance imagery on a large scale. In this piece he was a painting on the main wall of the Arcade in Bush House. Unfortunately he was at lunch when I popped in but generally the college community and the wider public were invited to interact with the artist as he created the piece.   When I saw it was still a drawing on the wall in a pediment shape combining classical, historic and contemporary sources. There was only 2 days to go and it felt like there was a lot of work to do but I liked the bones off it. I was pleased to see Virginia Woolf in there! There were print outs around of other images which might get added. The final painting will remain on display throughout the spring and early summer at the shop across the Strand from Bush House and I’ll definitely pop in to look. ...

Quirky exhibition at the British Museum which commissioned Egyptian graffiti artist Nofal O to respond to the centenary of the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamen. The work, round three walls of a small gallery was big and bold and nicely offset by a statue of the pharaoh. Evidently the artist’s work can be seen all around Cairo and often references Tutankhamun. Closed 29 January 2023  

Confusing exhibition at Somerset House of work by street and graffiti artists supposed on a theme of maps. I say confusing because I wasn’t too sure that all the works fitted the theme. One seemed to say it had stared with the idea of painting a map but it had ended up as woman! Things were not helped by the fact that your only guide round the show was a very confusing leaflet which I have pictured. It was a large format and as the works weren’t in order you were constantly having to open it and refold it to find what you were looking for. Added to that the numbers of the items were printed over the text and arrows, also over the text, joining up works in similar mediums. I’d also say I got lost finding the gallery so I was grumpy before I even got there! I did however love a pyramid of coloured cement castles by 3TT Man. I think it had something to so with combing contradictory beliefs but I just thought it looked pretty. Also Will Sweeney’s take on Cabott Square in Canar...

External exhibition by on the terrace at Somerset House by street artist JR of blown up versions of photo booth pictures laid out on the floor. It includes a mobile photo booth where you can have you picture taken and choose which site of this travelling installation you’d like it to be shown at. There were some lovely images in this display and I loved the overall effect of standard black and white images filling this space almost like a black and white checked floor. Sadly the booth wasn’t operating when I passed so I will not be appearing on a floor near you soon!

Sweet display on the South Bank of a mini wheelbarrow garden organised by The Edible Bus Stop. Each barrow was planted and it tended by a volunteer who gets to keep the barrow and it’s contents at the end of the display. This display is very restful and has upturned barrows among the planted ones to use as seats.  

New statute of Nike at Royal Woolwich Arsensal presented to London by the Ancient City of Olympia to mark the Greek origins of the Games. My main interest in this is that it’s on the development I live on. I saw a strange block of stone arrive a while ago but the workmen putting it in didn’t seem to know what it was for but a couple of weeks later a poster appeared for an unveiling followed by a statue covered in a tarpaulin! Sadly I was away for the unveiling but got back to find an elegant statue of Nik so thank you very much Olympia! 

What can best be described as a happening in Greenwich! When wandering in Greenwich I turned a corner to find a large very thing! It turns out it is called Bloom and describes itself as “an urban toy, a distributed social game and collective “gardening” experience that seeks the engagement of people in order to construct fuzzy BLOOM formations”. Ay the wiser, not sure I am but it was fun. It’s a series of flat pink pieces of plastic which can be clipped together to create firms. The core is put together by designers but then it moves to different sites and passers by join in and add new section or build their own designs. It was lovely to see a family concentrating on putting the bits together, often with the Dad’s having the most fun!

Street installation art all around London talking the form of telephone boxes which have been handed over to artists to turn into art works. I have only seen a few of these but it is lovely to turn a familiar corner and find a wacky reworking of such a familiar form. My favourite is of course the Big Ben as I see the original every day opposite work. The detail on the box is incredible and it is positioned in Trafalgar Square to line up visually with the original. The boxes are to mark the 40 th anniversary of Childline and will be auction to raise money for the NSPCC.