Selfridges window - City of the future
The museum of everything is currently showing in Selfridges in Oxford Street.We arrived there after a hearty breakfast in the Serpentine cafe anticipating an exhibition to equal or expand on the experiences provided by the previous three shows. Feeling a little apprehensive about the venue (it’s a shame that they weren’t able to stay in the disused dairy that aptly bonded with the work, emphasizing the raw creativity to such great effect).The curators have done a good job in re-creating the feel of the old venue – but sometimes when you catch a view of multiple displays of designer handbags or piles of Christmas baubles through the few emergency exits it does make you feel as if you are in a fairground theme ride.
This year artists from Japan and Germany stand out.
Selfridges window - wrestler
Stefan Hafner’s ‘Cities of the Future’ & Hans-Jorg Georgi’s ‘Paper Aircraft’ both from Atelier Goldstein in Germany stand out from the crowd, inventive and complex.
The great surprise was the work on show from Japan, supplying objects and images of great simplicity and sophistication of design.
The first thing that attracted us was groups of clay figures peering through gaps in the brickwork of what appeared to be a shed. Facinated by the odd creatures we walked to the side of the ‘building’ and were amazed by the groups of clay figures inside.
The work was by: Masonu Yamagwa, Hideaki Yoshikawa, Kazuni Kamal & Isao Hayashiguchi all from Atelier Yamanami, Japan.
But my favourite was the contact sports fanatic Tomoyoki Shinki from Atelier Incurve, Japan – producing some amazing drawings of wrestlers that look like they’ve escaped from the Beatles ‘Yellow Submarine’, EXCELLENT!!
Don’t miss this show – there’s something for everyone!
Closes 25th October 2011
