Hackney Wicked, July 2019 – The art on the street, just about still there…

Hackney WickED 2019 Part Two, July 28th 2019 – Part One is here – You see, you won’t find the Spontaneous things now, there aren’t the big outside installations of the ambitious exhibitions or dens popping up in yards or bands playing on stages set up in the street, (or raves on the road blocking bus routes), Hackney WickED doesn’t feel like a big party like it did five of six years ago when the place and the community really was left in peace to just get on with it all (damn those Olympics and their so called legacy). But there are still a few studio complexes hanging on in the face of all the developments and the developers and the annoying Mayor of London logos and the Trampery nonsense and the new builds that promise a concierge or…. actually, where are the shops for the people? is it all going to be order on-line and then delivered by white road-clogging van? Is that why we’re told we need more bridges? I’m still annoyed about that bulshit speech from the Trampery guy on the Friday evening at the opening of WickEd about how he got the “spirit” and wanted ot be part of it, what an absolute tosser, this was all covered in Part One of the Hackney WickEd 2019 review back there when it was still fresh news, and yes I did say we’d be back “in a minute with part two” and that was two or three weeks ago now and this is all old news and we’ve all moved on already and yes I am still annoyed about that Trampery stuff and regret about taking part in the group show when I really, even though Anna Maloney and her team really did work their collective socks off and did do everything they could to make a good show almost defiantly happen, should have known and the tales of people having drink taken off them on the door and the heavy security and a lot more besides, but but but, we did promise a part two and some of those studio photographs can’t go to waste and it was a pleasure meeting Paul Dash and seeing his work and his working space and oh hell, better very late than never…

Hackney Wicked, July 2019 – The open studios of the Peanut Factory – Paul Dash

But there are still a few of the old studios hanging on, and the original Bridget Riley complex is always rewarding as is the beautiful old Britannia Works over in the Peanut Factory, treasure these spaces while you can, there’s artists in both spaces who’s work you never really get to see or if you do then you see it mostly in a very politely formal gallery situation rather than with all working marks and the dirty coffee cups and such. Sure, some of those artists do clean things up a little too much for the open studio weekend and yes, some do almost turn their studios into galleries for the weekend but it is always rewarding and if you can put your blinkers on and avoid the corporate boards around the new buildings (they could at least let the street art flow on their damn boards while those damn boards are still damn well up, I’m not arguing that street art and graff should be everywhere but this is the Wick, go shove you corporate boards where the estate agents don’t dare go) and if you can get on with exploring art without letting those security guards at the Trampery annoy you 9I mean, they were nie enough people just doing their job but what was all the you can bring your own refreshments in and taking away art equipment crap about), if you can around that promise a concierge that’s so so not in line with the “spirit of Hackney WickEd” Mr Trampery, if you can blank all that our and just go explore the studios then Hackney WickEd weekend is still rewarding. Besides the big presence of the Who Are We group show in the middle of it all, there is art in other places, there’s some kind of art market at Stour Space, there are little things here and there, never did locate Aida Wilde’s show, did it even happen in the end? Mostly besides Who Are We, the weekend is about poking around the artist’s studios, speaking to artists who want to speak, meeting people like Paul Dash, worth the time just to explore his studio and see his work on his walls, that crowd painting and so much of what he had to say about being one of the original painters of the Windrush generation and such….

Hackney Wicked, July 2019 – Bridget Riley Studios, open weekend – Jeanette Barnes

Oh look, this is old news now, Paul Dash is a treasure, and exploring the work of people like Anastasia Beltyukova or Jeanette Barnes was a pleasure, Jeanette Barnes has a studio packed with great big drawings and paintings alive with the movement of construction cranes and such, although she refuses to paint the construction cranes of the Wick while the treat of being evicted from her long time studio hangs over her – “I will not give them the satisfaction of letting them know I’ve drawn them”. The piece of paper up on the wall of the entry of the Britannia Works studio complex talks of a community of 600 artists and spaces and such, it must be an old piece of paper, there’s a lot less now in terms of both numbers and usable spaces and those spaces that are there you still kind of feel aren’t going to be there for much longer. And I don’t for one second imagine there will be any kind artist-led Wick-friendly activity in that Trampery building once they finish building it, they might build a token artist studio or two with an unrealistic price tag and some heavy policing and it will probably be rented by some PR company who want to operate out of a trendy Hackney Wick address or something like that

Hackney Wicked, July 2019 – The open studios of the Peanut Factory

Hey look, the fact that a tenth annual Hackney WickEd weekend even happened is some kind of small victory of some sort but most of it did leave a sour taste and it is rather sad to see that the arrogance of architecture and the likes of that guy from the Trampery and the so called Olympic Legacy really have destroyed most of it now, they’ve pretty much taken over everything and destroyed most of the spirit now,besides the studios that are just about hanging on next to places like Stour Space and Grow… Anyway, it took a little longer than the promised “in a minute” and this is old news now and I haven’t taken the short walk over to the Wick again since that weekend and I’m not sure I ever will again… (sw)

Further reading on Paul Dash

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