Art Night London 2017 review

The festival borrows the style and format of Paris' long-running, effortlessly cool Nuit Blanche events

The Misshapeness of Things to Come, by Jake and Dinos Chapman, 2017, at London Dock.

(Image credit: Courtesy of White Cube)

last updated 25 October 2022

Over the weekend, London’s night tubes were filled with more than muddled party goers and sleepy service operators. An army of art lovers joined the midnight express.

Culture vultures and their confused housemates filled the streets, traveling from church, to gallery to apartment block, visiting 40, one-night-only events staged in unusual locations across the capital.

The festival borrows the style and format of Paris' long-running, effortlessly cool Nuit Blanche events. But can London's (no longer quite so edgy) East End really pull of a Parisian-style art night with the same romantic finesse?

Dennis Severs House, the location for one of two Chapman brothers' installations

It turns out, that wasn’t really the aim. Judging by the programming, (which included an open-air silent disco at Exchange Square), Art Night London is more about fun, spectacle and attracting the masses. The curator Fatoş Üstek speaks of offering everyone a warm welcome. ‘The festival celebrates the multiplicity that the East End holds,’ he explains, ‘with its diverse architectural, societal, psychological and linguistic profile.’

And attract the masses it did. Like Paris’ Nuit Blanche, famous for its snaking lines of louche flaneurs, there was no let up in queueing time, even into the wee hours. But spirits didn’t dip, (and nearby off-licences were thrilled by the late-night peak in beer sales).

The longest wait times, by a country mile, were at the Chapman brother’s duo of installations. Jake and Dinos premiered a new video installation – The Misshapeness of Things to Come – in a listed warehouse at London Dock, accompanied by a live performance by Jake's band. A selection of the Chapmans’ defaced prints were also installed in Dennis Severs’ House, an 18th century candlelit Huguenot house, tucked on a side street near Spitalfields.

Do Ho Suh’s compelling photographic installation, in Christ Church on Commercial Street, also attracted a continuous crowd. In the work, a single camera pans through endless apartment block rooms, slicing through walls and floors, offering an intimate look into the lives of unknown occupants.

Hopping from venue to venue feels very much like we're inside Suh’s film. These fleeting glimpses into previously closed-off areas of London are intriguing enough to keep anyone perky until morning.

Anne Hardy Art Night — *Falling and Walking (phhhhhhhhhhh phossshhhhh crrhhhhzzz mn huaooogh),* by Anne Hardy, 2017, at Nicholls & Clarke Showrooms.

Jake And Dinos Chapman One Day You Will No Longer Be Loved That It Should Come To This Xiii 2013 — *One Day You Will No Longer Be Loved That It Should Come To This Xiii,* 2013, installed at Dennis Severs House

Art night london dock — *The Misshapeness of Things to Come,* by Jake and Dinos Chapman, 2017.

Jake And Dinos Chapman The New Arrival 2014 — *The New Arrival,* 2014, installed at Dennis Severs House

Melanie Manchot Dance All Night London 2017 Produc — *Dance All Night,* 2017, performed by members of the public at Exchange Square, Broadgate

Inside the Masonic Temple in which Lindsay Seers installed her video performance *Mental Metal² ,* 2017,*Andaz London, Liverpool Street*

Passage/s (2013-16), and My Home/s (2014-16), by Do Ho Suh, at Christ Church.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Art Night website

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.