nobody can be uncheered with a balloon

On Saturday, I went to an exhibition at a pub called The Library. As I approached it, I was intrigued to see that it had giant inflatable tentacles waving out the windows, like this:

It was a grey, drizzly Saturday morning, so this cheered me up instantly. I was further intrigued when I got to the door and had to be checked off a guestlist by some pretty serious security, and was then eventually let in to the exhibition.

Inside, all of the pub furniture had been cleared, the walls were covered with canvases, and the floor space in between was filling up with Islingtelligentsia sipping wine and looking knowledgeable. However, I was distracted by these sculptures, just by the door:

The work is entitled ‘Pigeon English’, and is by FilthyLuker, the same artist responsible for the tentacles outside. Initially, I thought these were well-crafted models, but I spoke to Filthy later on, and he told me that he does indeed practice taxidermy on pigeons as well as putting inflatables in unlikely places.

The exhibition included really diverse mixture of works, including the stuff by Banksy and similar Bristol-based artists. More on the Banksy below, but here a few of the others that particularly caught my eye:

The last one is entitled ‘We are not amused’. Prices for these on canvas were around £500, and there were prints available as well. The collection had been brought together by Bristolian Paul Blower, who has just launched crazyfools.net as an online space for artists to exhibit, and was using The Library in a similar way to bring Bristol artists to greater recognition in the capital.

The real revelation of the exhibition was hidden away upstairs – the original of a never-before exhibited Bansky canvas entitled ‘Portrait of the Artist’:

Quite different from what we’ve come to expect, but fascinating to see something of his in a shiny gold frame, at least. Still polemical, but about art, not politics or consumerism. I think I will find it much harder to dismiss Banksy as a sensationalist or just an activist after seeing this. For me, it added a whole new dimension to his work. It wasn’t for sale, but there was a small sculpture called ‘The Watchtower’ which could be yours for £15, 000.

Paul, the owner, said he was really only displaying these items so as to draw in people to see the newer artists. I’m sure someone else would feel the need to make some statement about this signalling the start of the post-Banksy era in street art (or maybe they already have), but I just found it a really interesting, eclectic mixture of styles and pieces, and thought it a shame that it was only open for two afternoons. I know the pub had to go back to being a pub, and the tentacles couldn’t have stayed forever, but the whole idea of a “pop-up gallery” (as this apparently was) is a bit lost on me. Surely it automatically the number of people who can see the exhibition and dimishes any word of mouth effect in bringing people in? I know it was supposed to create a “buzz” and a sense of exclusivity, but when the contents is of such high calibre, I really don’t see the point of trying to create a false sense of expectation.