Power House
20 June - 20 July
"POWER HOUSE" 54 UNION STREET
54-58 UNION STREET
LONDON, SE1
 
  
"POWER HOUSE" installation
by ANGELA WRIGHT
www.angelawright.co.uk
R. K. BURT ARTISTS' PAPER WAREHOUSE, 54 UNION STREET, SE1
I am an installation artist making site-specific works in corporate buildings, street locations and churches.
In late 2007 I discovered this Union Street 1930’s ex Electricity Sub Station, now R. K. Burt's artists' paper warehouse. The blinded rendered windows of this sombre building reminded me of canvases waiting to be painted. The windows had probably been blocked at the beginning of the war, the spaces they once occupied are clearly defined.
I have chosen to install blinds for these blind windows. These blinds will relate to several aspects of the building, most importantly they will have an energy which will transform it. The 5 panels are a rhythmical sequence: 4 tall ones on the main façade - the first wider, the next 3 a repeated beat; then around the corner facing east, the 5th - squarer, placed high up, ‘floating’ - provides a full stop. The blinds will connect with the building’s past through colours associated with electricity, live wires and cables - the sub station previously humming inside will be evoked on the outside. They will also express an affinity with the ghosts of its window mullions. Finally, in their role as drawings they will refer to the building’s present use by artists’ paper merchants.
The building is situated close to several derelict houses encased in scaffolding, despite this there is a feeling of a village at this end of Union Street - the road splits in two as it approaches Southwark Bridge Road and the remaining island has a large spreading plane tree, café, outdoor seating, while overhead the trains trundle past. I wanted to add something dynamic to this end of the street, something that speaks of summertime!
Angela Wright
Event website
|
