But this is not a conventional art exhibition as such. You are unlikely to have heard of any of the artists, and they haven’t thought about you as an audience. Neither are they particularly interested in – even aware of – their work’s marketability, or, in some cases, the fact that it is on display at all. All of the works brought together for the Souzou exhibition were created by adults with a range of mental disorders and illnesses, living in social welfare facilities across Honshu, Japan’s largest island.

Souzou is a Japanese word that can be translated as either creation or imagination. Some of the works convey or communicate a particular idea or experience, others fulfil an essentially private function; in all cases there is little to no engagement with history and theory. In some ways, this exhibition represents a purer form of art-making, unshackled from a debilitating awareness of critical reception and the art market. The works are very personal to the individual’s particular outlook or perception of the world. Toshiko Yamanishi writes love letters to her mother in the form of multicoloured swirls of jagged patterns; Shota Katsube creates brilliant little action figures out of shiny bin-ties; Ryoko Koda reduces his name to one unique character and repeats it again and again in artfully arranged geometric patterns.

Exhibitions of ‘Outsider Art’ like this one always throw into question what it is that defines the ‘Insiders’ of the (fictional) concept of a singular and cohesive Art World. The Wellcome Collection’s exhibition offers an alternative kind of self expression through the visual arts and is not to be missed. (Words: Florence Ritter) 

Souzou: Outside Art from Japan, Wellcome Collection, runs until Sunday 30 June 2013. Click here for more info. 

Florence Ritter

Florence is a freelance writer and long-time contemporary arts devotee. Having spent some time living in Edinburgh and Paris, she recently returned to her hometown London and has promptly fallen back in love with the capital.

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Taking place at the Horse Hospital which prides itself on risk, experimentation and innovation, it all kicks off with a short film competition. Featuring seven films, the winner will selected by a secret ballot carried out by the crowd. Rather confusingly, there is an opening party the following evening (an avant garde take on lineality, perhaps?) and the fair on offer here highlights quite what a varied community has built over the last three years. A knees-up that promises Nói Kabát laying waste to your ears (a band who draw on constructivism, futurism and noise theory) alongside writers who do readings standing on their heads highlights that this is not only a festival about film, but a forum for discussion, art, and experimentalism – and that sounds like a fine way to spend the next few days.  (Words: Ed Spencer)

The Underground Film Festival runs from December 6th – 9th. For more info visit www.londonundergroundfilmfestival.org.uk

Ed Spencer

Ed is a writer of many guises, currently scouring the literary world to find someone lucky enough to publish his first novel, Blighty – a satire set in the environmentally fascist People’s Republic of Britannia. He also contributes to Artrocker magazine and discusses life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness at http://rufioriggs.wordpress.com

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If you’re still with me, surphysics is the subject matter here of this exhibition, and is a really rather heartening attempt to create a safe space within the memory banks. It’s a quite lovely idea. Like a self-decimating Russian doll or a dog chasing its own tail, Surphysics seeks to re-understand the source of thought, how we process it, how that is stored, and how it is remembered. It’s a chicken ‘n’ egg take on memory and the creation of that memory.

The artists, Halstead & Kerr, are members of Solina Hi-Fi, a gaggle of artists and music merchants involved in any manner of pursuit – a 24 hour Olympic marathon being a particular achievement. And a focus on collaboration is of importance to Anarch, the space in Deptford which this exhibition features. It seeks to find new spaces to create site-specific work that challenges the artists’ own modus operandi. Here, it is Halstead & Kerr who are challenged to develop alternative work practices –  though I think I’ll let their art do the talking rather than their words. (Words: Ed Spencer) 

Harmattan Cluster runs until January 26th.  For more info, visit  www.anarch.co.uk

Ed Spencer

Ed is a writer of many guises, currently scouring the literary world to find someone lucky enough to publish his first novel, Blighty – a satire set in the environmentally fascist People’s Republic of Britannia. He also contributes to Artrocker magazine and discusses life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness at http://rufioriggs.wordpress.com

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If you’re not familiar with Dreamthinkspeak, they have been around since 1999 mesmerising audiences with their site specific performances. This ensemble of actors, technicians and assorted creatives meld different mediums to create an all immersive journey for the audience, making them winners of the Peter Brook Empty Space Equity Ensemble Award in 2010. With their new gargantuan production, inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci and The Book of Revelation and utilising some avant-garde stage production, Dreamthinkspeak promise a journey through underground passages, the undiscovered nooks and crannies of Somerset House and require you take your life into your hand.
The superlatives flowed last time for their 2004 production Don’t Look Back, described variously as ‘beautiful’, ‘intricate’, ‘terrifying’ and ‘involving’ – and anyone that enjoyed the sold-out You Me Bum Bum Train will love this.  The action doesn’t unfold until January, but shows like these don’t go on sale early for nothing, so grab a ticket while (and if) you can.  (Words: Ed Spencer) 

In The Beginning Was The End runs from January 28 – March 30 2013.For more info, visit http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/performance/in-the-beginning-was-the-end

Ed Spencer

Ed is a writer of many guises, currently scouring the literary world to find someone lucky enough to publish his first novel, Blighty – a satire set in the environmentally fascist People’s Republic of Britannia. He also contributes to Artrocker magazine and discusses life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness at http://rufioriggs.wordpress.com

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Sparkly Brooklyn import Reed + Rader have made their London debut with new exhibition Cretaceous Returns at 18 Hewitt Street. The quirky duo famed for their bright, glitchy GIFs have refashioned the East London location as a prehistoric party house, staging large-scale projections and sound and video works in a space populated on- and off-screen by…dinosaurs. The opening night was a dino-extravaganza with videogame-graphics, dancing and dining on the digital artists’ favourite food – pizza – served up wood-fired style from bespoke street food company Bosco and Bee.

Reed + Rader’s work is undeniably fun. They push the GIF format- perhaps the first real art form of the internet –  to its faux-futuristic limits, creating dynamic and deadpan imagery that never takes itself too seriously. Inherent in their work is a bittersweet nostalgia for the simple pleasures of the early internet age  too– the happy-go-lucky Moldy Peaches era when Pokémon cards and Gameboys, pizza, kitties and cartoons were king.

And yet, beyond their spacey amusements-arcade of imagery, there is the potential for more serious discussions about the ways in which new technologies are to direct the future of art-making. Just as the prehistoric, the nostalgic and the futuristic are jumbled in this new exhibition, so are the categories of fashion, advertising, technology and art, converging to form a new breed of post-Pop art. Reed + Rader don’t only question the boundaries of ‘high’ and ‘low’ art but disregard them all together – with the irresistible audacity of teenagers. Cretaceous Returns is only on until November 20th, so catch the duo and their dinosaurs before they party on back over the Atlantic. (Words: Florence Ritter) 

For more info, visit www.prote.in/feed/2012/11/reed-rader

Florence Ritter

Florence is a freelance writer and long-time contemporary arts devotee. Having spent some time living in Edinburgh and Paris, she recently returned to her hometown London and has promptly fallen back in love with the capital.

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Having travelled across the world, this remarkable ‘performative installation’ returns to its original home at Ambika P3, Marylebone Road. The massive monolithic interior of the former concrete testing facility has once again been transformed to become Goebbels’ cavernous laboratory of sound and light. Stifter’s Dinge defies definition: it is at once a theatrical performance, a visual spectacle, a musical sculpture – and yet it is none of these things exclusively.

A towering structure blinking with LEDs supports five pianos which appear to play themselves, singing out short melodies which combine and blend with the clanking and clunking of other components in the installation. Bodies of water bubble and ripple with the reverberations of sound; a thin mist hovers across the scene. Lights flash and dance across the space, casting abstract patterns on vast gauze screens that lower themselves from the ceiling at various intervals. Phantom-like voices hauntingly play out over projected images of idealised landscape paintings. At times meditative, at times unsettling, the experience is totally mesmerizing.

The title of the work translates as ‘Stifter’s Things’, after nineteenth-century writer Adalbert Stifter who was (in)famous for his fastidious, vividly detailed descriptions of nature: part of his attempt to close the gap between the ambiguity of language and the reality of experience. Goebbels uses similar tactics of immersion in his ‘no-man show’. The contemporary composer created this piece for instruments, not their players; and as the only human presence in the room, the audience is made to focus on the objects themselves which appear to perform autonomously.

This is a project to experience, not one to read about. Stifter was right – sometimes language just doesn’t have the capacity to adequately describe nature (or a multi-faceted, sensory-immersive installation). Artangel never fail to deliver the cutting-edge of cool – the newest addition to their list of weird and wonderful projects is no exception and should not be missed. (Words: Florence Ritter) 

Heiner Goebbels: Stifter’s Dinge, in its new drop-in 4 hour long format The Unguided Tour, runs until 18th November. For more info, click HERE.  A series of the original performances run between 13th-18th November.

Florence Ritter

Florence is a freelance writer and long-time contemporary arts devotee. Having spent some time living in Edinburgh and Paris, she recently returned to her hometown London and has promptly fallen back in love with the capital.

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Having visited Peru at the ripe old age of 14, my lasting memories of the national cuisine were roasted guinea pig and rainbow trout – the latter quite lovely, the former a scene straight out of Pet Rescue. The cuisine since then has evolved thanks to the help of a few gastronomes who are exporting a sophisticated version of their complex cuisine. Virgilio Martinez who runs Central Restaurante in Lima, opened Lima London in Fiztrovia to rapturous ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’. Their style is to mix the authentic, indigenous ingredients with an haute cuisine twist. The food styling is right up to date, but their ingredients are definitely something more out there. Ancient inspired products such as red kiwicha and sacha inchi oil are present as well as the token fois gras, restaurants of a certain stature can’t do without. They also have an extensive Pisco cocktail menu (that’s the firewater of Peru, made from grape brandy).

Lima’s more casual and funky cousin Ceviche is unbelievably popular with the Soho crowd, with queues regularly gracing Frith Street. It started life as a tweet, yes, strange but true, by Martin Morales who desperately wanted to open a Peruvian restaurant. As its name suggests Ceviche takes as its focus the national dish – Ceviche: raw fish cooked in Tiger’s milk – a citrus emulsion that coagulates the protein, similar to the cooking process. If near raw fish products are a step too far (and they really shouldn’t be) there is plenty else on offer including grills and yes, another Pisco bar. It’s wise to book ahead as this place gets packed to the rafters, and that’s probably why the next addition will be arriving in the not too distant future (spring 2013).

If the centre of London is too hectic, then Islington also has a relatively new Peruvian offering in the form of Tierra Peru. A slightly lower key affair that has developed from humble Camden Market roots into their Essex Road establishment. If one thing is true of Peruvian cuisine, they have got a lot of different peppers and potatoes. And, the Tierra Peru menu has an authentic mix of both. The emphasis is on the classic here, so if you want experimental Peruvian I would stick to Lima. But for a local traditional flavour this is your place. Tierra Peru has a strategically placed sign that points to Peru, a mere 10,189km away. Luckily for you Londoners the flavours of Lima are right here on your doorstep. (Words: Laura Thornley)

Have you tried Peruvian food or know other go-to spots in London? Comment in the section below! 

Laura Thornley

Laura is a writer and journalist working across disciplines. Her background is within the arts, having studied both its history and practice at undergraduate and postgraduate level. If she isn’t digesting the latest in visual culture, she can be found indulging her other passion – seeking out the best grub from around the world.

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Gary Barnes, as he was known growing up, exhibited some work during his short lifetime but now, his ex-lover director John Maybury has donated and helped fund this exhibition, focused simply on his drawings. Often chaotic and absurd, the works were never precious or reverent. Using biros or cheap plastic frames the work took inspiration from the DIY culture that was very present throughout the punk years and has influenced sub cultural activity since. It’s rare for an art gallery to shed light on this performance subculture – perhaps due to the indefinable qualities; it was a movement always looking to go beyond the expected. Either way, it’s an exhibition not to be missed.

Trojan: Works on Paper is on until November 18th. For more info, visit www.ica.org.uk

Laura Thornley

Laura is a writer and journalist working across disciplines. Her background is within the arts, having studied both its history and practice at undergraduate and postgraduate level. If she isn’t digesting the latest in visual culture, she can be found indulging her other passion – seeking out the best grub from around the world.

More Posts – Website

When I look at my photos from The Secret Garden Party I can’t help but smile. When I was there I spent a lot of time smiling back at those smiling at me; it’s a festival filled with friendly people.  It’s a place where everyone is up for meeting everyone else and to cram in as much fun as one can have in 4 nights and 5 days.

The weeks of torrential rain before SGP worried me. But at the gates, it started well. A handsome man carried our bags in the dark and through the mud.  Our camping neighbours to the right offered their gazebo and a merry drink.  They knew before we did that there was no way we (with no instructions) could put up our tent in the drizzle without creating a terrible drama.

Our neighbours to our left became our dancing partners; they offered us friendship and laughter and  told us about places we hadn’t had time to read about.

We stood on the hill as the Alabama Shakes played in the distance.  Too far away to appreciate the music, we were still entertained by the people walking by. The colourful costume of the American Indian, the cool tiger face that grinned perfectly up close against my camera lens and the kids with no tears being pulled along by their parents in special homemade vehicles.

The Dance Off area was packed.  A massive boxing ring was the space people had earlier taken turns to show who was “the daddy” of the dancing floor.  Surrounded by piles of haystacks – the brave climbed to the top.  Everywhere – below and above – bodies moved enthusiastically to show their appreciation of the music. 

Those wanting something a little more hard-core waited for the boat to take them to the rave in the middle of the lake.

We discovered the Coliseum. During the day people mud wrestled naked.  The prize was simply the triumph of winning.  

On the way to the party in the woods we stopped by At Where the Wild Things Are bar for a cocktail. 

By the time we reached The Artful Badger it was always way too busy to like.  But I loved the novelty entrance to the Alice in Wonderland disco.  As the doors got smaller and smaller, they never got too small for me to fit through.  They took us to a place that kept us going when the thought of sleep in a muddy tent began to feel more welcoming.

I spent most of my weekend in fancy dress.  Sequence, wigs, silk, taffeta, netting, homemade wedding dresses, cute white leather corsets, love hearts, butterflies and bubble blowing filled my days. 

Where there was a party, there was also a place to rest.  I spent a little time in my bikini at Lost Horizons.   We chilled out on the grass.  Glided through the air in the tree swing. Had a shower (even though it’s cold, it feels great to wash) and emptied our alcohol-filled pores in a Swedish sauna where the temperature inside was insane.  

That’s where I met naked Stephen – the playwright.   Through the heated mist we talked documentaries, Russian models and always doing the job you love. We later exchanged phone numbers and arranged to meet again. I like to think we’ll be friends.

And when all that was done I went off to find the clay tent.  My friend created a five-legged turtle and I moulded Mr Caterpillar that sadly never made it back to home with me. 

The secret festival is set in the fields of Huntingdon, seventy miles outside London. Wild peaceful countryside mingles perfectly with respectful mud crunching happy fun seekers.

Even though thousands go ever year, I do feel it’s a special experience not many know about.  It was my first ever festival and if I didn’t have so many other things I’d like to do before I die, I’d definitely be a secret gardener again next year.

So instead, I feel it is my duty to tell you. 

Everything I was worried about.  I shouldn’t have. 

 Would I have fun? Yes.  
Did I need to know millions about music?  No  
. Would the toilets be so gross I’d be sick? No way. They were completely fine.
  Would I spend millions of money when I was there? No.  I didn’t have to. Would there be decent food? Yes, it was yummy and reasonable.
 Would I be wet and miserable? I was damp and for brief moments miserable.

But then there was always a Secret Gardener around to make me smile. 

(Words: Ena Miller) 

Do you have a lovely holiday experience you’d like to recommend and share with The Cultural Exposé? Email info@theculturalexpose.co.uk - we’d love to hear about it! 

The Cultural Exposé

The Cultural Exposé is a creative lifestyle listings site that covers what’s on in London and beyond.

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For more info visit: www.jazzrefreshed.com

N’Dambi at Jazz:Refreshed

Matilda Egere-Cooper

Matilda Egere-Cooper is the founder and editor of The Cultural Exposé, but has been a freelance journalist since 2002. Her work has featured in i-D, Dazed & Confused, The Mirror, Blues & Soul, BBC Entertainment and The Independent amongst others, and she picked up a prize for her writing at the Record of the Day Music Journalism and PR Awards in 2007. When she’s not managing TCé, Matilda’s a journalism lecturer, mentor and freelance photographer.

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