EXCESS - ANGEL ROW, NOTTINGHAM

“Excess” is a collection of works by Graham Dolphin, Tom Gallant, Izima Kaoru, Hentain Patel and Hancock and Kelly (Off-Site Live Performance) on display at the Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham from 11 November to 13 January.
After wandering the gallery swigging my free glass of wine for a few moments I began to see two common themes developing between the works in the exhibition. The first is the idea of craft and process , this is most prominent in the painstakingly manipulated fashion magazine covers of Graham Dolphin, Tom Gallants use of the Japanese craft of Kitami to make intricate paper cut outs and Hetain Patels video of himself using the traditional Indian craft of henna body tattooing to explore the link between his culture and his own anatomical structure.
The second is the Idea of Pattern, this ties all of the piece together but is most clearly visible in Izima Kaorus colourful large scale prints of ‘Landscapes with a corpse’ and Hancock and Kelly’s Piece (performed live Offsite at DC tattoo Parlour) in which a remembered wallpaper from a childhood home is tattooed onto the artists back.
It has to be said that the main areas of focus that this exhibition is trying to explore is not really my cup of char. And as such I felt a little distant from the work displayed from the outset, despite a second glass of free wine, how had I never clocked you get free booze at exhibition openings!. As I walked around I felt like many of the pieces were a little flimsy in terms of actual content, seeming to show more in terms of technical skill than trying to convey any sort of serious idea or concept. Certainly to my mind anyway.
I was close to reaching the same conclusion with Tom Gallants “The Collector: Persian Rug II (after Morris)” .. I was close to calling it a wasted night (apart from the free booze) until the paper cuts that make up the 3 ½ foot Persian rugs pattern in mind-boggling intricacy, began to speak in a language I could understand.
Once you are drawn into closer inspection of the piece layer upon layer of content begins to appear in front of your eyes. A guilty pleasure crept up my spine as I slowly started to realise that the tiny strands of paper that make up the piece are in fact a sea of pornographic flesh, flowers become vaginas, birds tails become penises and all sorts of other clever little visual crossovers. I seemed to have been the only person to notice this at that moment in time and as I stood with my nose almost pressed against the glass of the frame scanning the piece a small crowd formed around me, I should have expelled my gut wind into the ignorant bar-steward’s nostrils! Can‘t a man enjoy art in peace! but I restrained myself.
This could have been very low brow piece if done any differently but I really enjoyed the way it lured you into its dirty little secret by looking so benign and ‘crafty’. The mounting of the rug on glass a few inches above the wall aided to highlight the delicate nature of the piece and also helping to draw the eye into the work. This work definitely made the visit a worthwhile experience for me, otherwise I would have just considered it an ironic pre-bar before marching on to ‘The Goose’ for a few light ales with the ageing, stained, chavvy cattle that frequent it on a Friday night in Nottingham.