Eviction Exhibition [re_configure / trans_late]

 

All Images: Knightsbridge, London, December 2025

[Translated and Reconfigured Appropriated Texts]

This typically upscale residential neighbourhood attracts families from all over the world. I had never heard of it before, and the area was completely unfamiliar to me. Daytime admission is inexpensive and affordable for everyone. In fact, many people come to visit the exhibition - often more than once. Unfortunately, the exhibition space is incredibly chaotic. Some tenants are making long journeys on their days off to visit, which can cause serious problems - leading to lost rent [potentially threatening landlords' livelihoods]. The plates remind me of children's birthday parties, and the cups are cheap and ugly. Investors who bought rental properties in the area this year have earned an average gross return of 5.5%, as tenants come in person to inquire about issues that would normally be resolved over the phone. [A good way to force them to move out is to issue an eviction notice.] There's a ‘number machine’ that can calculate huge sums of money, and a rather unusual umbrella being used as a weapon. Call centre staff are reportedly now answering calls and witnessing the chaos first hand. It might sound exaggerated, but I can assure you - it's true.

The building's facade and courtyard are simply stunning, but unfortunately, due to the weather, the city council couldn't fully appreciate their magnificence. However, the delegation was able to install massive columns and crosses in several other houses. To prevent further deterioration, the council announced it would commission an artist to create a sculpture [a plaster replica] of the facade, during the ‘isolation, stabilisation, digitisation, and recording’ phase. I had a simple question about their new museum, so I contacted them via email and was told that, before making any decisions, the Finance Director would be consulted according to Article 151 [it was truly shocking to see their extravagant lifestyle at the time]. Other countries were also invited to showcase their innovations and accordingly, the floors were closed earlier than usual. Don’t mention that, If your investment property has a mortgage, you'll be in arrears on payments. Despite having 100,000 items for sale, ranging from steam engines and giant machines to cutting-edge scientific instruments and ingenious technological innovations, this was still the case here. Countless lavish exhibits were intended to impress, but ultimately, they were disappointing. 

I resent the emails. Payment deadlines are worrying, and you have to constantly watch out for annoying visitors who will look around and bother others to get the ‘perfect photo’. Inspecting everything would probably take a whole day. Subletting is a pressing issue and, in fact, we don't have £108 million and need to raise that money first. I suggest starting with a thorough investigation, focusing on antiques [such as silk, porcelain, textiles, precious Chinese ivory, Cossack armour, and Russian malachite ceramics], and then seeing what else can be done. The house repair and homelessness assistance team noticed a decrease in calls for help, and pessimism quickly turned to enthusiasm after someone explained the concept of self-financing to the management. All the hydraulic presses were scheduled to be operational before summer, so I called to inquire, and they confirmed they had received and would reply to my communication. I still haven't received any response.

No A.I. used [for better or worse]

Christopher Wool at Gagosian, Grovenor Hill, London / Happy New Year

All Images: Christopher Wool, Gagosian, Grovenor Hill, London December 2025

Over a number of years, New Year's celebrations tended to pass me by somewhat. I had developed the small personal tradition of seeing in the new year in reflective mood, ideally with a paintbrush and a glass of something in hand. Last year broke that trend, and it seems that this year, I will again be out and about in company as the calendar clicks over. So, instead of self-indulgently ruminating on my own 'progress' or aspirations, I'll make this last post of 2025 a  celebration of my last exhibition experience of the year. As it transpires, Christopher Wool's recent show of works on paper and related sculptures turned out to be one of the most uplifting things I've seen in a long time.

I've long been a big fan of Wool's work, across the span of his career - from the early repeat patterns and painted texts, through the more painterly mid-period smears and stains, and into the ever-evolving tangles and movements towards 3D of his current 'grand old man' years. I find visual and intellectual nourishment in it all, to be honest, and consider him amongst the most engaging of those artists who prolong the relevance of centuries-old media, even as they are  pushed back and forth through the reproduction and translation technologies of the mechanical/digital era. That productive tension between analogue and the technologically mediated realms, and between the improvisational 'in the moment' experience, and the fixed but  infinitely tradable 'memory', continue to be key preoccupations in my own work.

However, beyond any of that (and above all), the show at Gagosian turned out to be a sheer sensory delight. Be it in the form of paper-based wall pieces, or mechanically-enlarged found wire tangles, Wool's language of scribbles, smears, stains, painterly gestures, printer's dots and occasional text fragments just went on mining limitless variation - often from the simplest of sources. Complexity out of minimal origins, calligraphic spontaneity, the tactility of fluid media, the chance effects of layering, the sheer delight of one thing partially glimpsed through the matrix of another, a determination to wring the maximum potential from the humblest or  disregarded gifts the world can offer - all these things (and more) are in full effect in his work, it appears.

The show in London was actually a relatively modest variation on a larger exhibit, entitled 'See, Stop Run', which Wool installed in a disused and dilapidated New York office space in 2024. The remainder of this cycle of work has found a longer-term home in Marfa, Texas, apparently. As the stunning publication from the  Manhattan show attests, the dialogue between work and context, and the material, visual and textural effects thereby generated, must have been endlessly stimulating. Urban resonances? - I should say so! That show immediately joins the list of 'things I wish I'd seen', but regrets will get us nowhere (and the prospect of a journey into the Trumpian hellscape doesn't really appeal, for obvious reasons). As it was, the stripped-down, pure-white cubicle version of Wool on offer in London, still provided an experience that continued to excite, even after a couple of hours of intensive immersion. It was only eye strain, aching legs and the need to find a publicly-accessible toilet (come on, Gagosian - surely that's not too much to ask!), that eventually dragged me away. 

Incredibly, even this opportunity might have easily passed me by. Having already been down in London for some other exhibitions a few weeks previously, it was purely by chance that I'd retrospectively noticed Wool was on show just a few hundred metres from where I'd been that day. For all of Gagosian's status within the high-end international art world, its Grovenor Hill site just isn't a location you walk past by chance, it seems. Knowing that opportunities to see a collection of his work over here don't come around too often, I hastily cleared another Saturday in the diary, organised more coach tickets, and braved torrential rain (and a few other logistical complications) to make it there before the show ended, just prior to the descent into full-on Christmapalypse. Regrets? - I'm sure the eulogy above will tell you I have none.

It's gratifying to be able to end the year with a report of something genuinely uplifting, even as it sneaked-in under the wire of 2025. Indeed, this wasn't just a cultural high water mark of my year, but one of the most memorable of the last decade. It's just a shame I can't use this slightly-delayed post as a prompt for others to also visit, but perhaps my photos can offer some pale impression of what I enjoyed. 

On that note: Happy New Year, one and all. Clearly, the good stuff's still out there, if we look hard enough.

Still composed [shamelessly] without A.I., in 2025.

Notional Express [re_configure]

All Images: M1 (Leicester - London - Leicester), Brent Cross Junction &
Victoria Coach Station, London, December 2025

[Reconfigured Appropriated Texts]

Whether you're a newbie or practically living on our coaches, that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop! Budget-friendly fares mean you can still say ‘yes’ to adventure, beginning at a point which is 97 metres after marker post 49/6, and 4 metres before marker post 49/7, and ending at a point which is 42 metres after marker post 71/5, and 63 metres before marker post 71/6. You WILL be woken up by a biblical set of bright white lights running through the cabin [if you are able to sleep at all with the rattling]. Grief is hard - any words following the terms “including”, “include”, “in particular”, “for example” or any similar expression, shall be construed as illustrative and shall not limit the sense of the words, description, definition, phrase or term preceding those terms. There are amendments to section 64 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act (1984), but none of these is relevant - I don’t need personal rude comments about my appearance.

Got some wiggle room in your schedule? Great! the letter 'M' followed by a number is a reference to the motorway known by that name. Today, it has seen a number of expensive upgrades to help it cope with modern traffic. The letter 'A' followed by a number is a reference to a stupid remark, especially when the passengers do not understand English. Make sure to pack your charging cable, and a good pair of headphones will make the journey fly by. I highly recommend the audiogram and hearing service. We have found the drivers to be - quite rightly - a bit hard to hear on the speaker. All starts off well, then it becomes painfully obvious I probably should have had an ear assessment for the purpose of indicating that vehicles are entering, have entered or are exiting a specified road. Its architecture and bridges reflect its futuristic ambition, and 'Zone Sign' means a sign authorised by the Secretary of State under section 64.

On my most recent journey, I am pleased to report that the seat-belts worked properly, being easy to fasten and flexible to the intentions of the parties under the severed provision. Once fastened, the remaining condition and applicable special condition [or parts thereof] when someone is in a seat you have paid extra for [which happened to me] is simply not good enough. This isn't right or hygienic. Savvy travellers know the secret: should any such condition or applicable special condition [or any part thereof] be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, it shall be severed from these conditions or the special conditions [as appropriate]. On both the outward and return journeys, we found out that although I still had mild tinnitus, my ear drums were actually quite healthy. What a relief! Sadly the wi-fi remained unworkable throughout both legs. We had to deal with the strong stench of urine for three hours and it has created an unpleasant atmosphere [I will SUE everyone!].

Still composed without A.I. in 2025 [for better or worse]