Blurred lines: Yuri Pattison questions the viability of live/work spaces
At first glance, Chisenhale Road near Mile End is unassuming and suburban. Look a little closer and it becomes a lively corner of east London's vibrant artistic community. Earlier this year, Wallpaper* visited Chisenhale Primary School, where Asif Khan created his space-making double-decker playground. Now, we return to the street, to explore its decommissioned warehouse-turned-exhibition space, which has been filled with an extraordinary installation from London-based artist – and 2016 Frieze Artist Award winner – Yuri Pattison.
Like Khan's playground, Pattison's work considers the city's evolving use of space. 'London is being strangled,' the artist says, reflecting on his exhibition the morning after it opened. 'Particularly for hobbyists, craftsmen and technologists. The way we are using our city is changing.'
We're living in the age of transparency, Pattison believes, and privacy is being disrupted. London today brims with open-plan offices, live/work spaces and glass walls; when we finally do close the doors, we turn to our social media networks and break down the barriers virtually. Pattison's new commission – the result of a two-year residency with community-focused art agency Create – uses digital media and sculpture to critically address this transparency and what it means for London's future.
During his research, Pattison ingratiated himself in a skill-sharing, grassroots workspace called London Hackspace. 'Their workshop is a stark environment, but the personal, creative projects scattered within the space give it a warmth. I wanted to emulate this at Chisenhale.' To do so, he employed harsh lighting, industrial shelving units and rows of empty plastic crates, but provided moments of respite with a green plant garden and two paintings that look like works-in-progress. It's as if he has transformed Chisenhale Gallery from a contemporary exhibition space back into the working warehouse it once was. 'I wanted it to feel like a place in transition,' explains Pattison, 'so I left the Eames-replica chairs in their packaging.' Instruction manuals for the furniture's construction are upturned for viewers to peruse like bleak artworks.
What's more, abstract films on screens of varying size are dispersed throughout the room. They showcase a variety of futuristic, experimental live/work spaces – often plush, luxurious and attractive, in contrast with the unsettled, cold room they're displayed in.
Whether Pattison is criticising or encouraging London's increasingly transparent nature is part of this exhibition's mystique. Either way, the artist is engaging with one of today's most prescient issues, and provides a fascinating insight behind the translucent screen of London's tech-city.
Pattison's work considers the city's evolving use of space. 'London is being strangled,' the artist says, reflecting on his exhibition the morning after it opened. 'Particularly for hobbyists, craftsmen, technologists and artists.' Pictured: Half relief shelter zone for user, space (hexayurt configuration), 2016
INFORMATION
’Yuri Pattison: user, space’ is on view until 28 August. For more information, visit the Chisenhale Gallery website
Photography: Andy Keate. Courtesy the artist, mother’s tankstation limited, Dublin; Helga Maria Klosterfelde, Berlin; and Labor, Mexico
ADDRESS
Chisenhale Gallery
64 Chisenhale Road
London, E3 5QZ
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Elly Parsons is the Digital Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees Wallpaper.com and its social platforms. She has been with the brand since 2015 in various roles, spending time as digital writer – specialising in art, technology and contemporary culture – and as deputy digital editor. She was shortlisted for a PPA Award in 2017, has written extensively for many publications, and has contributed to three books. She is a guest lecturer in digital journalism at Goldsmiths University, London, where she also holds a masters degree in creative writing. Now, her main areas of expertise include content strategy, audience engagement, and social media.
-
Find yourself at Six Senses Kyoto, the brand's breathtaking Japan debut
Six Senses Kyoto opens its doors boasting tranquil, luxurious interiors by Blink Design Group
By Danielle Demetriou Published
-
Shigeru Ban’s mini Paper Log House welcomed at The Glass House
'Shigeru Ban: The Paper Log House' is shown at The Glass House in New Canaan, USA as the house museum of American architect Philip Johnson plays host to the Japanese architect’s model temporary home concept
By Adrian Madlener Published
-
Artist Mickalene Thomas wrestles with notions of Black beauty, female empowerment and love
'Mickalene Thomas: All About Love’, a touring exhibition, considers Black female representation
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Kembra Pfahler revisits ‘The Manual of Action’ for CIRCA
Artist Kembra Pfahler will lead a series of classes in person and online, with a short film streamed from Piccadilly Circus in London, as well as in Berlin, Milan and Seoul, over three months until 30 June 2024
By Zoe Whitfield Published
-
Yinka Shonibare considers the tangled relationship between Africa and Europe at Serpentine South
Yinka Shonibare‘s ‘Suspended States’ at Serpentine South, London, considers history, refuge and humanitarian support (until 1 September 2024)
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Gavin Turk subverts still-life painting and says: ‘We are what we throw away’
Gavin Turk considers wasteful consumer culture in ‘The Conspiracy of Blindness’ at Ben Brown Fine Arts, London
By Rowland Bagnall Published
-
Dorothy Hepworth and Patricia Preece: Bloomsbury’s untold story
‘Dorothy Hepworth and Patricia Preece: An Untold Story’ is a new exhibition at Charleston in Lewes, UK, that charts the duo's creative legacy
By Katie Tobin Published
-
Don’t miss: Thea Djordjadze’s site-specific sculptures in London
Thea Djordjadze’s ‘framing yours making mine’ at Sprüth Magers, London, is an exercise in restraint
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘Accordion Fields’ at Lisson Gallery unites painters inspired by London
‘Accordian Fields’ at Lisson Gallery is a group show looking at painting linked to London
By Amah-Rose Abrams Published
-
Fetishism, violence and desire: Alexis Hunter in London
‘Alexis Hunter: 10 Seconds’ at London's Richard Saltoun Gallery focuses on the artist’s work from the 1970s, disrupting sexual stereotypes
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Wayne McGregor’s new work merges genetic code, AI and choreography
Company Wayne McGregor has collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a series of works, ‘Autobiography (v95 and v96)’, at Sadler’s Wells (12 – 13 March 2024)
By Rachael Moloney Published