Seaside Art Galleries: London Eye for Tribute Magazine
September 2023: Jack Eames tours British seaside art galleries and reviews what he’s watching and listening to for Tribute Magazine.
Back again for another London Eye piece for Tribute Magazine! Having spent some time traversing the beautiful British coast, for this article I share some wonderful visits to local seaside art galleries. The below was originally published in September 2023.
1/ Exhibition: The Turner
Margate is a favourite place in Kent, it’s just a 20-minute drive from where we live in Whitstable. The town hosts one of many brilliant seaside art galleries in the UK: the Turner Contemporary Gallery, built on the site of one of artist JMW Turner’s favourite places in the town. Turner is the sublime artist of the sea. With an economy that few artists have been able to match, Turner created many stunning coastal scenes and seascapes. ‘Blue Sea and Distant Ship’ belongs to a group of several hundred rapidly-made and highly-expressive watercolours. These are sometimes referred to collectively as colour 'beginnings', and form part of a body of preparatory studies. Reduction feels so important in art, to me. This painting embodies the magic of stripped-down minimalism. A few deft touches can convey so much.
2/ Film: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Iconic photographer Nan Goldin is the subject of this film, which takes in a tour of New York’s 1970s counterculture. Ex-addict Goldin is on a mission to expose the odious Sackler family, the people who are behind America’s OxyContin opioid epidemic. It records the nuts and bolts of social activism. It’s moving, enthralling and artful – in every sense of that word. Nan Golding had a huge impact on my roots in photography and documentary, and her use of colour and light in her various books is so beautiful.
3/ TV: Top Boy Season 5
Top Boy’s latest series is on Netflix this Autumn, and I confess I cannot wait to view it! Most of Top Boy is shot around the parts of Hackney I was living in until three years ago, so it’s a good chance to reminisce. In need of a bit of a geek out, on various occasions I visited Dushane’s (played by Ashley Walters) office, which is actually a café.
4/ Music: Lana Del Rey - Hyde Park
Under a sun-dappled sky streaked with clouds shaped like chemtrails, this was one of the most incredible spectacles of live music I have ever experienced. Lana Del Rey was attended by six dancers, three superb gospel singers and a four man band. Clearly, a lot of work had gone into this remarkable show and its theatrical tableaux. A unique mention to hair stylist (and my friend from Haircuts4Homeless) Anna Cofone, who made an appearance on stage. Anna has been doing Lana’s hair for many years…
5/ Gallery: Hastings Contemporary – Yun Hyong-Keun exhibition
The work of Korean artist Yun Hyong-Keun strikes a chord with my love of abstract expressionism. The paintings recall both the traditional Chinese ink painting, and western Modernist abstraction. Viewing, I felt reminded of Barnett Newman’s remarks that when standing in front of one of his paintings, he wanted the viewer to become aware of that experience as real. This is true here. The paintings made me feel aware of time passing, of simply being, and of encountering the movement of time. And as far as seaside art galleries go, Hastings Contemporary is worth a visit.
6/ Podcast: Song Exploder
Song Exploder is a podcast where musicians take apart their songs and piece-by-piece tell the story of how they were made. The premise might sound vaguely clinical, or even joyless (music of course is about more than just its parts) but Song Exploder has recently been adapted into a Netflix series, and is warm, deep, and illuminating. It is a show filled with serious lines of honesty, cinematic production and insights into the creative process. For me, it really presents some of the finest explorations of the creative process you will ever hear.
7/ Big Shout Out: Tom Porter
Tom - affectionately known only as ‘Porter’ - has been my first assistant for around five years now. Artistically there are few who can come close to the creative workings of his mind. Zines have always been a big part of my life, and Porter has created his own zine of absolute beauty. This publication is devoted to lamps. Please see it for an insight into the beautifully warped mind of Porter! Follow on @tomrporter
8/ Book: The War of Art
It feels as if you can hardly get out of the door these days without having received various prompts, adverts or something in one of your feeds to improve your life. I really don’t want to add to that assault on our time. However (sorry!) there is this gem I find inspiring. You will need to get through a fair amount of cheese in the writing, but there are real golden moments to grasp here. For example, here is a quick couple of lines from the beginning: 'There's a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don't, and the secret is this: It's not the writing part that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write.'Yes! As Picasso said: 'Inspiration exists, but when it arrives it must always find you working!' You have to turn up!
