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The Dreamer

Arena Artists @ The Foundry
by Sarah Bush

11th December
2007

This was my first visit to the Foundry, which is a bar, venue and art space on Old Street; an alternative cultural landmark wedged in between the trendy Hoxton art scene and other east end re-developments. This isn't your typical venue, it is a space that is more about artistic freedom and integrity than about profit. The building itself is an ex-bank, which seems fitting as it's run by ex-KLF members Gimpo and Bill Drummond; renowned for burning a million pounds - their music profits, as an artistic statement.

It seems that perhaps burning the million pounds wasn't such a great idea, as their shortage of cash has brought about the necessity for a huge advertisement covering nearly the entire outside of the building. Inside, though the look is more underground, with walls of TV and monitor screens, flickering soundwaves, dusty salvaged sofas, junk, colourful photographs, strange artefacts and poetry scrawled and printed across the walls and ceilings. It is a dark space but the bar staff are relaxed and the beer is organic. Downstairs, in the basement is where you'll find the gallery. The space used to be a vault and still features a huge steel revolving disc, set into the floor. This was once used to turn vehicles around and now sometimes serves as a makeshift merry-go-round.

The artwork from the gallery space extends out onto the walls, the corridors and the toilets, as an explosion of graffiti and half-disintegrated flyers. Anyone is welcome to draw on the walls and the effect is striking; a living record, documenting the thoughts and visions of the people who have used this space over the years. This kind of freedom is also reflected in the Foundry's booking policy: anyone is welcome to put on an art show here without as much as showing a CV or a sample of their work; all that you need to do to get a show here is to ask at the bar.

The show here tonight has been put on by the Arena Artists; a large and diverse group, living together in a warehouse in Manor House. Their show was of a surprisingly high standard considering the venue's open door policy and featured paintings, installations and a troupe of performance artists. The work was surreal, shambolic and other-worldly; the visit was literally like stepping into a twisted reality.

Here's a taste of the contents of the show: a girl dressed as a clown speaking in a mixture of made up and foreign languages, armed with a childs yellow and red plastic recording device, a giant purple soft toy shark hung in a giant net, a discarded, grafittied suitcase, a man in a bird mask cutting up a cabbage and throwing it at a property sign, a girl dressed in white lying on a broken chair staring outwards blankly. The show even extended out into the mens toilet, a man wearing a black lycra outfit was chained between two urinals, visible to people in the corridor every time the door was opened.

The performance art was what really brought the show to life, forcing immediate, visible and audible reactions from the viewers. The paintings and installations bounced off these interactions, enforcing them and acting as a backdrop for this constructed world of chaos. The experience was immersive, seeming to represent an extension of the way the artists lived; as a creative and collaborative community and this brought about a very special energy, which wasn't forced.

The show was light-hearted to a point, but there was definitely something discomfiting about the overall experience. I was reminded of artist Paul Mc Carthy's grotesque, twisted amusement park type performances and installations, although the show here didn't quite get onto such perverse territory.

Most striking of all though was that this was just one night, one art show. Weird art, experimental music and improvised poetry readings happen at the Foundry on a very regular basis. This is a magical place where people experiment with boundaries, constantly; an interesting and improvised space that stretches our perceptions of what being creative is really all about. In my opinion London really needs more interesting and open spaces like this.

Most evenings after seven there is something going on at The Foundry: an art show, a poetry reading or something just so strange that you can't even begin to imagine...