Earlier this month, Harry and I stopped by Herald Street gallery in East London to see the current exhibition, by British artist Michael Dean. OC's connection to Herald Street goes way back: OC Tokyo hosted Herald Street artist Cary Kwok's show in 2010, and we collaborated with two other artists from the gallery (Pablo Bronstein and Scott King) on limited edition products to celebrate the opening of our London store. Not to mention the fact that the gallery's director, Ash L'Ange, and his wife, Maryam L'Ange, are two of Carol and Humberto's BFFs. Ash was kind enough to give us a tour of the show and the gallery space—which was full of surprises. In a backroom, we came across Cary working on a new picture (entirely in ballpoint pen). And in another, there were large canvases by Pablo Bronstein and by Matt Connors (whose solo show opens at the gallery later this month). Read on for more about Michael Dean, and be sure to catch the show before the end of the month.
Photos by Harry Carr
Alice Newell-Hanson: How long has the gallery been on Herald Street?
Ash L'Ange: We moved here in 2006. We originally set up in Dalston. Before that, I was in film production. I had a space in Dalston which was actually intended for music videos and film projects with a group of other people. We invited Nicky [Verber] (my business partner) to start a gallery in the space and then I started working on it with him. Through running the gallery, I realized that, in film, you get stuck in projects which take years to complete and can feel like they're going nowhere. With the gallery, suddenly it was really satisfying to do something that moves very quickly. Because it was just him and me doing it, it became pretty full-time.
Can you tell me about the show we're looking at?
It’s by Michael Dean, a young English artist from Newcastle. His works usually originate in some sort of text; he’s into communication, but on a very deep level. This series started with him seeing two people kissing. He suddenly became obsessed with the communication that’s transmitted through kissing. The other starting point was looking at a lock on a door. He became fascinated by what locks communicate and the way they work. All of the sculptures in this show are based on original locks that he found: old Egyptian locks, locks from the Middle Ages. The Egyptian locks were built out of wood but they used exactly the same kind of mechanism that we now use in modern-day locks, with interlocking pins and teeth. So these concrete sculptures represent the internal workings of locks.
The way they're presented, among all these walls, feels like someone's house.
Yes, Michael decided to show the work in the way that he was showing stuff in his studio. He wanted a more domestic setting.
What are the books arranged along with the sculptures?
Michael’s been writing a book about Newcastle. He’s basically writing it in his mind and translating it all into "ha’s" so it’s like somebody laughing. I think he’s about halfway through at the moment. And these are all drafts.
So this "hahahahah," for example, could mean “Newcastle”? That's very The Shining.
Exactly. The whole premise for the book is the
Photos by Harry Carr
Alice Newell-Hanson: How long has the gallery been on Herald Street?
Ash L'Ange: We moved here in 2006. We originally set up in Dalston. Before that, I was in film production. I had a space in Dalston which was actually intended for music videos and film projects with a group of other people. We invited Nicky [Verber] (my business partner) to start a gallery in the space and then I started working on it with him. Through running the gallery, I realized that, in film, you get stuck in projects which take years to complete and can feel like they're going nowhere. With the gallery, suddenly it was really satisfying to do something that moves very quickly. Because it was just him and me doing it, it became pretty full-time.
Can you tell me about the show we're looking at?
It’s by Michael Dean, a young English artist from Newcastle. His works usually originate in some sort of text; he’s into communication, but on a very deep level. This series started with him seeing two people kissing. He suddenly became obsessed with the communication that’s transmitted through kissing. The other starting point was looking at a lock on a door. He became fascinated by what locks communicate and the way they work. All of the sculptures in this show are based on original locks that he found: old Egyptian locks, locks from the Middle Ages. The Egyptian locks were built out of wood but they used exactly the same kind of mechanism that we now use in modern-day locks, with interlocking pins and teeth. So these concrete sculptures represent the internal workings of locks.
The way they're presented, among all these walls, feels like someone's house.
Yes, Michael decided to show the work in the way that he was showing stuff in his studio. He wanted a more domestic setting.
What are the books arranged along with the sculptures?
Michael’s been writing a book about Newcastle. He’s basically writing it in his mind and translating it all into "ha’s" so it’s like somebody laughing. I think he’s about halfway through at the moment. And these are all drafts.
So this "hahahahah," for example, could mean “Newcastle”? That's very The Shining.
Exactly. The whole premise for the book is the