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
The commission stems from in-depth research into London's Silicon Roundabout (or 'Tech City'), and uses digital media and sculpture to explore the ways in which we live and work in the age of an increasingly online society
Throughout the residency, 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,' he explains
Pattison has 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
'I wanted it to feel like a place in transition,' explains Pattison, 'so I left the Eames-replica chairs in their packaging.' Pictured: Communal table for user, space (detail), 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
-
Sculptor Woody De Othello paints a Miami museum red for a show that ‘almost hugs you’The Miami-born, California-based artist opens his first museum exhibition in his hometown as an experiential journey through life and lifeless objects
-
Alpine A390 GT: French, fast and fun. A sporting EV with a real sense of occasionAlpine doubles down on its fast electric credentials with the A390 GT, the French performance brand’s largest car to date
-
Forget smart homes, Doma's 'intelligent' doors open at the sight of a familiar faceYves Béhar and Jason Johnson have founded Doma, a tech start-up dedicated to seamlessly integrating tech into your daily life
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFar from slowing down for the festive season, the Wallpaper* team is in full swing, hopping from events to openings this week. Sometimes work can feel like play – and we also had time for some festive cocktails and cinematic releases
-
The Barbican is undergoing a huge revamp. Here’s what we knowThe Barbican Centre is set to close in June 2028 for a year as part of a huge restoration plan to future-proof the brutalist Grade II-listed site
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt’s wet, windy and wintry and, this week, the Wallpaper* team craved moments of escape. We found it in memories of the Mediterranean, flavours of Mexico, and immersions in the worlds of music and art
-
Each mundane object tells a story at Pace’s tribute to the everydayIn a group exhibition, ‘Monument to the Unimportant’, artists give the seemingly insignificant – from discarded clothes to weeds in cracks – a longer look
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThis week, the Wallpaper* team had its finger on the pulse of architecture, interiors and fashion – while also scooping the latest on the Radiohead reunion and London’s buzziest pizza
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt’s been a week of escapism: daydreams of Ghana sparked by lively local projects, glimpses of Tokyo on nostalgic film rolls, and a charming foray into the heart of Christmas as the festive season kicks off in earnest
-
Wes Anderson at the Design Museum celebrates an obsessive attention to detail‘Wes Anderson: The Archives’ pays tribute to the American film director’s career – expect props and puppets aplenty in this comprehensive London retrospective
-
Meet Eva Helene Pade, the emerging artist redefining figurative paintingPade’s dreamlike figures in a crowd are currently on show at Thaddaeus Ropac London; she tells us about her need ‘to capture movements especially’
