Just in time for considering Halloween costumery that evokes fantasies of alter ego, BSMT Gallery in the creative hub of North East London gives you a push, encouraging you to explore the possibilities.
Perspicere. Alter Ego. BSMT Space Gallery. London, England. (photo courtesy of the artist)
The beauty of opening the field of street art up to nearly anyone to join means that today’s “urban contemporary” scene also embraces those with formal art-school education and commercial art industry careers – sometimes delivering a fusion of street and modern aesthetics that are eye-popping. In the case of ‘Alter Ego’ opening on October 7th, you get to see portraiture that is varied as the practice, each selection presenting personality, character, and life in the post-industrial, knowledge-worker, surveillance age.
Alexander Chappel. Alter Ego. BSMT Space Gallery. London, England. (photo courtesy of the artist)
A meditative survey in the search for meaning, these profiles offer varied lenses through which one can gaze, backed by bonified painting talents. The results are distinctly human, and interpretive. As a collection the group show reflects this moment, this extended network, this Western society on the cusp of economic hardship and expanding war; the last moment before all the rules change again.
Artists include Aches, Alexander Chappel, Ange Bell, Angela Ho, Belin , Ben Wakeling, Caryn Koh, Edwin, Guy Denning, Jose Luis Cena, Joseph Loughborough, KMG, Pang, Panik, Perspicere, Stephen Anthony Davids, and Sweet Toof.
Ange Bell. Alter Ego. BSMT Space Gallery. London, England. (photo courtesy of the artist)Aches. Alter Ego. BSMT Space Gallery. London, England. (photo courtesy of the artist)Panik. Alter Ego. BSMT Space Gallery. London, England. (photo courtesy of the artist)
BSMT Space. ‘Alter Ego’ will run from October 7th through to October 30th. 529 Kingsland Rd, London, E84AR
“We are committed to improving our town centre and art and culture has a big part to play in its future,” says Leader of Basildon Council Councillor Andrew Baggott. “We are also committed to climate change and are working towards a carbon net-zero borough by 2050.”
With a new street art initiative called Our Towns, curators Doug Gillen and Charlotte Pyatt are tying together environmental and social concerns with new large-scale murals here in the Essex, UK town.
Partnering artists with the local schools, university, market and community organizations, Gillen and Pyatt have been introducing new public artworks all summer by international artists like Arches (Ireland), Franco ‘JAZ’ Fasoli (Argentina/Italy), and Marina Capdevila (Spain), as well as homegrown UK talents including Erin Holly, Gabriel Pitcher, INSA, Michele Curtis, and Helen Bur.
While some on the roster are known for their street art and others have backgrounds in more formal studio practice, collectively perhaps their works are softening some of the brutalist edges of this town of just over 100,000 residents.
Owing its name to an idea of challenging ourselves to see art and public space in original and meaningful ways that affect positive change, the Re:Framed project is steered by two pros in street art cultural production and analysis. “We are dedicated to developing new and innovative strategies to reposition the role of culture in social and environmental conversations,” says a joint statement by the curators.
“The Our Towns: Climate project will be our most ambitious to date, the legacy for which will see Basildon join the growing number of cities and towns across the world adopting the Global Goals.”
Giving their partnership the moniker Re:FRAMED, Pyatt and Gillen have worked in production, strategy, consultancy and documentation with art on the streets for approximately the last decade and plan to coalesce artists and organizations around social and environmental themes going forward. With high-quality artists and artworks like these, you can look forward to the two reframing both contexts and conversations in public space in their future.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
