1920s medical experiments inform the first exhibition at WW Gallery's new Clerkenwell space. Kate Weir reports.
This month sees WW Gallery, previously housed in an allegedly haunted, former Victorian crack den in Hackney Downs, relocate to Hatton Garden, in significantly better-groomed Clerkenwell. 'Frightening Albert', their inaugural show in the 1,200 square-foot former jeweller's, sees artist Phil Illingworth play with texture, paint and light; luring the audience into a false sense of security.
'Frightening Albert' is a reference to the social services-baiting psychological experiment conducted by John B Watson in 1920, where a child, 'Albert B', was conditioned to play with rats, and objects with fur, and subsequently fear them by associating them with the loud noises administered by Watson. Illingworth's works are much like the stimulus used to engage Albert, enticing the viewer with bold colours, tactile fabrics such as chenille and artificial grass, and eye-catching shapes.
However, all is not quite as it seems in Illingworth’s work. The eponymous Frightening Albert [above right] turns from a playful Lego creation to a creature with an uncomfortable looking steel-wool proboscis. The Martyrdom of St Agatha, a reference to the torture of Agatha of Sicily, grows from a harmlessly placed nail to an ominous black spear when lit at a certain angle, and Gadzooks is a restless composition of bristles on a board, distorted by shadows.
The playfulness of Pino Pascali's sculptures, and the bold simplicity of Jean Arp's work (especially his Forest relief) are both evident in the exhibition, although Illingworth uses a 3D painting technique to bolster these influences and create work that transcends the wall due to texture or a trick of the light. It works surprisingly well as you find yourself stooped at odd angles to find the next hidden surprise.
There is also a hint of Man Ray and Dada-esque humour in works such as Jesus Toast [above left], which sees a benign-looking mattress accessorised with what are almost certainly red phalluses. Meanwhile, Portable Painting, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it dot on the wall, is rescued from pretension by bafflement.
The Victorian ghosts may be a thing of the past and 1920s parenting manuals were probably just instructions for how to make bathtub gin using a breast pump; but Illingworth has taken a spanking new space and pathological terror and turned them into something witty, engaging and colourful, making this an auspicious start for WW Gallery mark two.
Phil Illingworth - Frightening Albert is at WW Gallery until 5th May 2012.
Click here to see all London exhibitions.
Return to Spoonfed's London Art homepage.
Add an event
Scoping Out London’s Coolest Historic Bingo Halls
London’s bingo halls were once a bustling part of many of the city’s communities, but as...