Janet Baker
“No plan. Just a camera. I take pictures of things that probably won’t be here tomorrow. Or things that no one else is looking at. Temporary is magical.”
Janet’s words aptly describe Stories, her new show in Brixton’s Tate Library. Representing her work over many years and reflecting her preference for the drama of black and white to the warmth of colour, it is a window onto her passions, her interests and scenes from her life. And it’s a diverse and unique collection of images! Fleeting moments in time, patterns within buildings, random snippets of writing on walls, the sea, abandoned chairs, markets, distant figures in cool landscapes – they are all here. And in her world, bridges become complex geometric forms and supermarket trollies elements in an alien landscape. Some images suggest an emotional connection with the subject; others are rather more detached. Accompanying the images are written stories which give them some context and allow glimpses into Janet’s life and the way she connects with the world.
There’s a lot of work on show, so make sure you set aside enough time to appreciate it.
Stories runs until 28 September in Brixton’s Tate Library, Windrush Square, SW2 1JQ
Martin Grover
Not to be missed is Martin Grover’s witty, surreal and occasionally sinister take on the world in his new show, Long Adrift on Shipless Oceans. Martin’s new works have a quirky, dream-like quality as he places everyday items in unexpected places and transplants strange events from history and across the world into local scenes. A dead tree in the dead of night is the scene of a famous item of fake news concerning a cellist and a nightingale. A snake falling from the sky somewhere in Texas lands on a startled woman on a stormy day in Brockwell Park. There are also some variations on a well-known theme. Martin’s wonderful trompe l’oeil record sleeves get a vibrant and playful makeover. His park scenes get some new characters. But his fine technique and unique lens on the world are as strong as ever.
The show runs in the Woodfield Pavilion, 16a Abbotswood Road, SW16 1AP from 3-8 September & from 17 – 21 September
Open 11- 5pm or by appointment
Andy Insh
New works by Andy Insh, winner of the 2024 Brixton Blog & Bugle Summer Art Show, are on show in Clover’s Bar & Restaurant throughout September. He has always been interested in Brixton streetscapes. But here he has reimagined biblical and classical characters and stories, and placed them in local settings. For example Adam and Eve are resting on a bench in Brockwell Park; the Three Graces are outside the NatWest Bank and Abraham and Isaac, complete with gruesome detail, are in the depths of Brixton Market. He has kept to his trademark pointillist style of painting and his remarkable skill in using a very limited palette to create an extraordinary range of colour and tone. Andy’s new works are in turn, witty, eccentric and strangely restful. Go and have a look at them.
The show runs throughout September in Clover’s Bar & Restaurant, 58 Atlantic Road SW9 8PY
