Medusa, a group exhibition at Union Gallery, East London – Union Gallery say they are pleased to present Medusa, a “provocative collection of contemporary artworks inspired by the mythical figure of Medusa – though more as a principle”. We have here an exhibition curated curated by Mike Chavez-Dawson, most of the work dating from the last twelve months although there are one to two pieces that are almost old enough to go out and vote. This show actually opened a few Saturday afternoons back and yes, I know, should have rushed back to the studio, should have rushed back to to the Organ bunker and banged out some words way before now, – hell, the show is into a final week, dan lazy of me (hey, hit that art option, there’s been more art covered in an in-depth way on these fractured pages this year than there has been in most places and I refer you to the black dog of the previous review and the wondering why the effort is made? 

The exhibition statement on the gallery website tells us the that “this exhibition reimagines Medusa not as a monster, but as an emblem of resistance against patriarchal and authoritative oppression. The artists featured in this collection use a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, digital art, and mixed media, to build upon this notion. They delve into her transformation from a beautiful maiden into a feared gorgon, exploring themes of autonomy, power, and the reclamation of patriarchal narratives”.

Apparently the exhibition “aims to spark dialogue about the ways in which ancient myths influence contemporary views on gender and authority. Medusa’s story resonates with many who feel marginalised or misunderstood. Chavez-Dawson was intrigued by the myth of Medusa and the Lacan take on Medusa as an archetype of defiance in the face of the powers that be, a liminal state of neither immortal or mortal – or as Muslich states “Medusa repels and attracts at the same time. She is a snake monster but equally a femme fatale. She unites the beauty and the beast…” but the crux is about how art can go beyond the cathartic in terms of emotional turmoil and how it sticks two fingers up to  the constraints of social norms, a poison and an antidote in one…”

And so on a sunny Saturday afternoon in late February, I took the time to once again walk over to that gallery that we told you before was somewhere in the hinterlands beyond the Hackney Road on the Bethnal Green side of things. Those hinterlands is where you find Union, a small white cube in the front room of a terrace house, or is it an ex shop? or maybe an old industrial building that now feels like a terrace of houses? And like we asked before, do we have hinterlands in that part of East London? We’re surely too far from the river, the canal or anything else? Do like this rather informally of the very formal by-the-book gallery in these almost secret of back streets. It may not be the most friendly of spaces, the atmosphere may not be that inviting, it often isn’t in East London galleries. There’s an opening on, cliques of people are drinking the wine or whatever the gallery is offering, no one says a word, there’s a few who-the-hell-are-you-and-what-the-hell-are-you-doing-here glances from the hipster art crowd who once again insist in standing in the way of the pieces of art talking to each other as I try to get a decent look. No one smiles, no one says “HI, would you like a drink?” No one utters “hey, hello, thanks for coming” or anything anything near anything like that. I check my shoes, see if I’ve stepped in something, East London art galleries can be aloof places, not that I want a plastic cup of cheap warm vinegar flavoured wine on a Saturday afternoon, not that I want to get into a conversation, I’ve just jumped out of my studio and a break from my own art for half an hour to come have a look, to support the scene as they say, to seemingly clap with one hand one more. It is a rather unwelcoming unfriendly atmosphere though, it is almost like they don’t want you here. Enough of that or stepping in the crap left by black dogs, I do like this space and once again the show delivers 9there’s been some great shows in here recently; Susie Green’s Play Time, Jen Orpin’s We Left Nothing Behind and her brilliantly atmospheric bridges…   

Not sure about the aim to spark dialogue? Not sure if the works are even talking to each other, there are some interesting pieces though. No labels on anything of course and no information to hand, and later on we find half the work missing from the Gallery’s website. who knows why? Maybe the pieces no long shown have sold or something? Whatever the case, once again putting an artist name to a piece of work is a hit and miss affair? We simply don’t know the half of it (again) 

“This exhibition is a celebration of Medusa’s strength and a call to challenge the systems that seek to suppress our voices” – well, not really feeling any massive challenge to any system, what I am seeing is a well hung busy if rather disjointed group show with maybe a hint of a theme here and there as well as one or two really strong pieces amongst what are mostly positively received piece of work (some we can put a name to, some we simply can’t even though we’ve gone and searched the gallery’s website).  There’s a rock on the floor in the corner, the work of Hilary Jack, who knew it it was anything more than a rock? I guess only the mice, the spiders and maybe a small crouching dog or two will know there’s wheels on the base of it unless the website has been explored (that’s how I found out, it did nothing for me until I saw it on line). Why put it down there? Surely on a plinth? or maybe in the way Tim Smith would put bits only dogs could hear in Cardiacs recordings, it was only meant to be viewed by the mice and the spiders? There are some great pieces in here though and once again it probably isn’t right to cherry pick, do like that Jessica Voorsanger piece that’s stretched on the wall – Star Trek Pucci (2024), Angela Tait‘s Work of Body (2024) is intriguing and do really really (really) like the strength of Sam Owen Hull‘s Maquette for a painting 0609.

Actually both the street level one room that is the main gallery and the downstairs basement are open for this show, or at least they were for the opening day, there is a healthy amount to explore without it ever feeling over crowded or too shoehorned in. I really don’t want to be picking things out, it really is, as these things almost always are, about the one whole, the group show as one thing and that one whole thing was and is pretty good although evidently not really exciting (or “provocative”) enough to have me running back here to bang out an immediate piece and post it straight away. I don’t know, hey art, it isn’t you, it really is me, am I finally falling out of love with galleries and going to shows? or are they just not wanting to really engage? Actually, now I think about it, maybe the Medusa part of things was only the one room, ah who cares, if they can’t be bothered to make it clear, why should I? (sw) 

The exhibition features the work of Ada Bond, Brass Art, Jane Chavez-Dawson, Mike Chavez-Dawson, Rebecca Davy, Karen Densham, Sarah Hardacre, Sam Owen Hull, Hilary Jack, Rachel Goodyear, Ruth Murray, Freddie Robins, Angela Tait, Nye Thompson, Jessica Voorsanger, Jude Wainwright, Evita Ziemele

Union Gallery is found at 94 Teesdale Street, Bethnal Green, London, E2 6PU. The gallery is open midday until 6pm Tuesday to Saturday. The Gallery’s own photos of the works are here. The show runs until March 22nd 2025

Previously –

ORGAN THING: Jen Orpin, We Left Nothing Behind at East London’s Union Gallery, sometimes it is just about the pure pleasure of walking in to a gallery and just standing there and quietly enjoying paint, paintings, painter and place…

ORGAN THING: Susie Green’s Play Time at East London’s Union Gallery – they do demand a smile and yes, the colours are far far brighter than those that usually fill the darker world of dominance and submission..

As always, do click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show