Debaser @ BSMT Space, March 2016

Debaser opened on Thursday night over at BSMT Space, Dalston, London, N16, the rain was pouring, the people still poured in and we really can’t be blowing our own trumpets on this one for Debaser is a Cultivate show. Cultivate is nomadic now, Vyner Street has gone, the once rather special street previously alive with galleries is now a haven to developers, to self-proclaimed “future thinkers” ripping things apart, to coffee peddlers and expensive redevelopments, our old street corner and pretty much all the galleries have gone and Cultivate now ventures here and there. in the past year we’ve ventured to East London warehouses, to the seaside, to railway arches and on this occasion, to a basement over on the busy main street over in Dalston. Cultivate and Organ, for those of you who don’t know, are very much woven together, and so to review this show is indeed to blow our own trumpets and we can’t be doing that can we?. Then again where are the so-called London art press? All these things going on and none of them ever really bother acknowledging any of it, too busy wearing red hats telling us Tracey has married a rock or Damian has had one of his minions paint another dot rather than get out there to see, and well, let’s blow our own brass wind instrument and tell you about here…

Debaser @BSMT Space, March 2016, Nadine Talalla, This One

So Debaser opened in the Hackney rain, seventeen artists in a rather welcoming basement gallery on the main Stoke Newington High Road right in the middle of Dalston, just past the Rio Cinema and almost hidden there in plain sight amongst the 99p shops that are being undercut by the 98p shops, the closing down sales and the Turkish food shops, that and all the brilliant noise and colour of Ridley Road market, rather pleasing place to be showing some art, rather like doing things here…..

Debaser @BSMT Space, March 2016, Rosso

Down the stairs, white walls and bright lights awaiting, seventeen artists and some more cross-pollination, the street art flavours of This One, Charlie Mcfarley and Skeleton Cardboard comfortably sharing walls with the painterly moves of Bruce Lovelock or Joanna Georgiades, the gothic delights of Deborah Griffin, the intriguingly dark and so often beautiful mind-space of photographer and performer Agata Cardoso, actually no, Agata is a painter who uses a camera rather than a brush. 

The shadow-throwing textile flavours of the ever understated Coa Ahmet, the fluidity of M.O.B, the gas masks at bus stops of Rosso, actually to pick out names isn’t fair – each contributor hand-selected and invited, picky picky process putting this show together. A whole bunch of artists once again invited to share Cultivate wall space alongside the leaves and thorns and words and shapes and collages and well I think it worked? I think it flowed? By the time the doors are open the hang has drained things, those pieces don’t hang themselves, back and forth juggling and balancing, moving and changing, this one there, no, over there, fifteen artists invited to share wall space with Emma Harvey and myself. Really pleased to have Rosso back on our walls alongside the energy and line work of Marcelina Amilia and to welcome Matt Reid to a Cultivate for the first time.

Debaser @BSMT Space, March 2016, Agata Cardoso

I think it went well, the night was busy, the wine flowed, people flowed, arr flowed, music flowed, paintings fed off each other, complimented each other, spoke to each other. Charlie McFarley was a little more black and white than usual, think he might have caught a few people off-guard with his two new pieces, rather like them. Skeleton Cardboard’s comments of life and “likes” and not being able to breathe without wi-fi were appreciated, Quiet British Accent have taken on a Festival of Britain 1950’s feel with their latest graphic pieces, Emma Harvey revealed a second circle painted and more beautiful moving of paint, Arina Orlova got all Hitchcock with her trademark gold, Nadine Talalla has clearly grown in confidence, a expansive canvas piece and a painter breaking out of her shell now… I think we can afford ourselves a little trumpet blowing in the rain of Dalston, think it went rather well.. (sw) . 

Debaser @BSMT Space, March 2016, Emma Harvey, Agata Cordoso…

Debaser opened on Thursday evening March 24th and runs until Sunday March 27th (open11am until 7pm)

Artists involved in Debaser – AGATA CARDOSO, ARINA ORLOVA, BRUCE LOVELOCK, CHARLIE McFARLEY, COS AHMET, DEBORAH GRIFFIN, EMMA HARVEY, JOANNA GEORGIADES, M.O.B, MARCELINA AMELIA, MATT REID, NADINE TALALLA, QUIET BRITISH ACCENT, ROSSO, SEAN WORRALL, SKELETON CARDBOARD and THIS ONE

click on an image to enlarge or run the slide show