An installation at Primae Noctis. Pic: Edouard Burgeat

Edouard Burgeat, a 24-year-old artist based in Tower Hamlets, will open his first solo show ‘Primae Noctis’ in a gallery next to Green Park tonight, January 17.

The exhibition will be held in one of the several galleries around the park displaying fine arts, from Renaissance pieces to Andy Warhol paintings.

The exhibition’s title was inspired by a medieval law called Ius primae noctis: the right of a feudal lord to bed a serf bride on her wedding night.

The title hints at the contrast between the role of the emerging east London artist and the commercial and lucrative art world of West London.

Victoria Genzini, curator of the exhibition, said: “The show, from research to concept, was thought to be in contrast with West London – to pass from one extreme to the other. On the one hand, East London is crowded with new artists and it is difficult to be noticed. On the other, engaging with a different public represented a great challenge for us.”

One of the art pieces comprises eight chairs that the artist found in the street, brutally set in opposition against the bright, upmarket location of Duke Street.

The artist said: “The shows gives a less conventional image of East London’s art because the content of the pieces is very serious. I deal with the comparison between life and art in post-war times and in credit crunch times. However, I wanted to keep the playful side of East London’s artistic life as an opposition and that is implicit in all of my pieces.”

Each of the twenty pieces in his collection was created separately, merging fine arts and design and using different media to create installations, Bauhaus and Constructivist inspired drawings, collages, lights and pieces of furniture.

The exhibition will be showing at Gallery 8 until January 20, 2013, with the gallery open every day 10am – 5pm.