On with the documenting of art, it is indeed a dirty job but hey, someone’s got to do it (we care a lot). Someone has to do some documenting outside of the galleries or the artists involved documenting themselves via their often rather throwaway away social media feeds. A quick one today, once again it has already happened. Not sure what to make of the tiny Wilton Way Gallery, a very small gallery with grand ideas found in both the small basement and the big window of a vintage haberdashery shop just off London Fields in sunny Hackney. Dare we say the shows in the space have been a little hit and miss so far? The Taylor Silk show at the start of the year was one of this year’s highlights so far (and we do on the whole like to stick to our policy of only covering things when we’re positive about those things).
The latest thing to happen in the Wilton Way space was Andrea Hasler’s latest installation in the big window. I was only there for a week, “on view until 27th April, day and night”, I caught it late last week, late at night, on the way home from a gig – that excellent Test Plan show at the Shacklewell Arms if you really must know – Andrea Hasler’s installation looked dramatic around the midnight hour in a street empty save for a passing urban fox that also seemed to be having a look and well, here it is in passing, the installation not the fox, here’s the gallery’s statement (with the American spellings corrected, damn this Grammarly pollution and the smoking)
“Andrea Hasler’s latest installation ‘He Promised Me the Moon’ continues her exploration of the tension between desire and abjection, luxury, and decay. At its core, the piece features a fleshy, intestine-like wax sculpture with a male arm growing from it, merging seamlessly with a large, circular gold-leafed protrusion. The smooth, reflective gold surface contrasts starkly with the visceral, organic textures, blurring the line between seduction and discomfort.
Clutched between the fingers of the male hand is a half-smoked cigarette, evoking the intimate yet fleeting nature of a post- coital moment. The sculpture itself has “landed” in the centre of a surrounding floor-to-ceiling landscape of intestine-like forms, immersing the viewer in a space that is at once bodily and surreal, intimate yet far away. This environment heightens the tension between the grotesque and the desirable, as the gold-covered protrusion – reminiscent of a pregnant belly, a swollen stomach, or the moon – becomes both an object of allure and unease.
The title, He Promised Me the Moon, speaks to themes of aspiration and disillusionment, hinting at unattainable dreams and grand ambitions. It also nods to contemporary figures like Elon Musk and his lunar visions, yet here, the “moon” takes on a corporeal, unsettling presence – an embodiment of consumption, indulgence, and the promises that never quite materialise. As with much of Hasler’s work, this installation challenges the viewer’s perception of beauty, power, and desire, pushing the boundaries between attraction and repulsion within a hyper-sensory, immersive environment”.
And there is it, or was, just a quick bit of documentation, blink and you missed it.
Wilton Way Gallery, 61 Wilton Way, London Fields, Hackney, London E8 1BG. Wilton Way on Instragram or on their website. Andrea Hasler on Instagram
Next in the space, Malou Palmqvist and an exhibition, titled Beneath the full moon, a collection of “dynamic ceramic pieces” by the artist. The show will run from the 30th of April until the 30th of May.
Previously…
As always do please click on an image to see the whole thing or to run the slide show…
THE ORGAN 