Exercise 5: Challenging the notion of an Exhibition

I have found 2 examples of artwork on my camera roll, one of which I believe is an example of an exhibition and another I would argue isn’t.

Whilst walking the streets of London in September 2021 enjoying parts of the London Design Festival, one of the creations on display was made by artist Jonah Luswata, his work is called ‘Moonlight Towers’ and it was on display just outside the V&A, the Design Festival’s Brompton Design District. This is an example of an exhibition, presenting the potential of an underused and highly sustainable material, American red oak. He was inspired by the moonlight towers that were used to illuminate the city in the late Victorian era. It’s temporary and designed and made to promote the material, exhibited for the general public to enjoy.

I found a piece of artwork displayed in a public space whilst walking the streets of Bristol, the sun was shining and the sky was blue and the colours on each of the buildings drew me in. Different themes and characters are on display making me feel happy, I smile as I take a photograph and wonder who the artist is. The project was created by six local artists, a partnership between street art festival Upfest, and Bedminster’s local Business Improvement District (BID). I wouldn’t consider this an exhibition. Artists have transformed a space using bright, cheerful colours, the buildings now have a different character and it shows talent, no longer plain facades on the fronts of buildings above commercial properties in a high street known for its diversity and culture in a trendy part of Bristol, south of the river.

My understanding of an Exhibition is a piece of work or a display of works by only one artist. Doing this task has helped reinforce that, when I see a piece of artwork in a public place, I admire their design and always try and find out who it was created by to get a better understanding of it’s origin.

Images

Fig. 1 – My own photograph of Jonah Luswata’s Designpost at the London Design Festival 2021

Fig. 2 – My own photograph of artwork on commercial properties in Bristol