Peep Show

Red Dot Exhibitions
ArtSpeq Gallery @ Quiggins Centre
20th November – 18th December 2004, Tues-Sat 10:00-17:30

Reviewed by Adam Ford

The intriguingly-named Peep Show is Red Dot’s second showcase, and sets a high standard that many of the Biennial exhibitors would do well to emulate.

In stark contrast to this summer’s warm and vibrant Kif exhibition, the bulk of this collection seems to suggest detachment and fragmentation, but then again maybe that’s just me. Michelle Burrows’ 'Hanging Out' is a particularly morbid example, as statuesque grey bodies tumble from ultra-modern tower blocks. Her collection of photos from the recent Athens Olympics depicts the athletes as untouchable gods and goddesses to be worshipped but never emulated, a point underlined by their imitation classical laurels. Similarly, Salina Somalya’s metallic sculptures conjure feelings of industrial foreboding with their copper and steel frames, though her colourful mosaics take the mind to entirely different places. Lisa Ashcroft’s sequinned creations ('Pleasure Seeker', 'Honey Pot' and 'Love') brilliantly depict personal relationships as somehow being very public things, as if they were dictated by the mass media. But a very special mention must go to Neil Crawford’s four abstract pieces, of which 'Rhythm' - a nocturnal world of nervous energy - and 'Artic Composition' - a glacial 'mindscape' of blues and cool greens - deserve pride of place in some great hall somewhere.

Colin Serjent and Sue Milburn have amassed another impressively varied collection of artwork from upcoming and well-established talents. Like the fantastic Channel Four sitcom of the same name, Peep Show provides half an hour of very entertaining voyeurism.

To find out more about the Red Dot artists, visit http://www.red-dotexhibitions.co.uk