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Jiro Osuga, Departures at Flowers, Kingsland Road, East London – Well I guess filling the very big gallery head to toe in a tile-like tirade of canvases is bold, it surely can’t fail to look exciting as you walk in, it feels like something significant, an event? It feels like something? It feels big, bold (as things so often are in the excellent Kingsland Road branch of Flowers Gallery).

“Flowers Gallery is pleased to announce a new exhibition by Jiro Osuga, in which the artist will transform the Kingsland Road gallery into an airport departure lounge, embarking on an ambitious journey of imagination” – Canvases all butted up together to make one continuous floor to ceiling piece, actually once you get over the initial sight of it all the overall feeling is fun, or is it? Actually, does it feel a little throwaway?  The paintings themselves?

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“In Departures, the gallery will be filled with a continuous series of paintings, covering a space of more than 160 square metres. The highly detailed paintings weave a seamless journey through the building, traversing the crowded halls, shops, and waiting areas in between, creating an unfolding stage for individual and often unexpected narratives to occur. Hundreds of fictional characters occupy the busy departure lounge, some of whom may be visitors from past centuries or other galaxies, waiting to board flights bound for mythical destinations. As the title suggests, Departures is a launching-off point from which viewers are invited to explore imaginary journeys of their own”.

It certainly is intriguing, you are dragged in, maybe tirade was a bit strong, the work doesn’t shout and once you have taken in the overall vastness of it and you’re over the initial reaction, it does demand you focus on relatively small details, the titles of the books and what’s that doing there? Where are they going? What’s that guy from the 18th Century doing flying on a commercial airliner? Parts of it look like the departure lounge from Men In Black. It is fun, it does make you smile but but but, when you really look at it, it all feels just a little cartoonish, a little too cartoonish maybe?  A little too throwaway, dare I say silly? The paintings, the whole piece feels like a series of book illustrations (for a not that serious a book) and yes it might be making valid points, comments, but as a visual piece of art, ambitious as it is, it feels (although it must have taken months (years?) rushed, the canvases feel like they weren’t quite concluded. slightly unresolved.

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I really want to say Departures is great but, it kind of feels just a little annoying, a touch lightweight? I have been back a couple of times now, seems like the normally very reliable Kingsland Road branch of Flowers can’t do “it” every single time. Can I just politely say it wasn’t my thing and leave it with you to go have a look if it feels like yours?

Departures is at the Kingsland Road branch of Flowers Gallery until July 1st   The East London branch of Flowers Gallery is at 82 Kingsland Road, London E2 8DP. Exhibition Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11am – 6pm. Just ring the doorbell, as we’ve said before , this is a gallery where they actually smile when you ring their bell. Shoreditch Church end of Kingsland Road, just over from Great Art. Flowers have been brilliant in recent years, and all for free, very very easy to take all this for granted.

Do click on an image to enlarge and see it all, these poor quality images are there to give you a hint of a flavour. Do go if you have a chance.