Photo:kanshiketsu on Flickr
Having just introduced a new exhibition to this art space, the Lewisham Art House is a brilliant place to have a quick wander around and take in some home-grown local art. Ken Devine, the collection’s creator, has brought to this Edwardian former public library a feast of colour, animation and intrigue. Sporting two works shining forth from ceiling mounted projectors, one on the roof and one on the floor, the exhibition space is an enveloping experience. As it is set in the entrance halls of an old library, the space is open and echoey, until you reach the major projection displays, where the windows have been blacked out and the only light that exudes is that of the artworks.
Based on the theme of colour and people’s personal response to it, the projections feature a Haphazard Colour Machine, which gives the impression of floating through a galaxy of coloured blocks. Mr Devine explained to me that these blocks are created from actual data taken from questionnaires answered by dozens of people as he created the work. Fed into his computer animation machine, they come out represented as coloured shapes in the projection, and produce a mesmerising vortex of colour and movement.
Further, Devine has taken some freeze frames of the computer images and had them made into blow up prints which are framed on the walls, alongside his collection of small print canvases which are home to “spectra”: graphical data showing answers to specific questions – a different question is shown on each canvas.
Overall, a good place to have a look around at something a bit different, but easily small enough that the kids will not get bored in the time it takes you to have a look around yourself – they’ll probably love all the moving colours anyway!
Opening Times: Wednesdays to Sunday 12 – 6pm
Address: Lewisham Arthouse, 140 Lewisham Way, London SE14 6PD
Exhibition Dates: 23 March – 17 April 2011
Nearby Eateries: (click for Google map and customer reviews)
DIRECTIONS FROM THE ELL STATION TO THE GALLERY:
