'London💜Dick' is the new exhibition by the Loved Collective and is open to view and hear at the Velorose Gallery just along from the Barbican. I saw the last Loved exhibition in Brixton a couple of years ago so it was good to see this updated version, especially when most galleries are still closed. This was my first exhibition since seeing the Titian at the National Gallery on 16 March and it felt good to be seeing real things on real walls again rather than through a computer screen.
It's a small exhibition, with about 15 works on display in the small Velorose gallery but it's good that it's open and showing new works. The publicly displayed images all have the titular genitals covered but if you open the gatefold 'doors' in the exhibition you see the fully naked men. That's a bit odd, particularly given the title of the exhibition, since there are plenty of naked men in art galleriess but it also creates a sense of surprise. What will I see if I open this?
Something I really like is the strapline to the exhibition: 'Heroic stories of passion and acceptance (and dick)'. That creates all sorts of images and possibilities, the struggles some people face to accept who they are and their body shape. These aren't idealised visions of men but men with a bit of weight, hairy, tattoos, in a wheelchair (because some people are), all looking at what 'ordinary' men are like in an honest way. We see the infinite variety of the human (male) body and there's no one size fits all, different shapes and different sizes. And, let's face it, we're all beautiful in our own ways.
The artist is Charlie Hunter and the other half of the collective is Mike Wyeld who creates soundscapes of the stories told by the subjects of the drawings and others who didn't want to be drawn. I really like the simplicity of the drawings, simple but powerful and very distinctive.
If you fancy it, you can send in your own art contributions to be part of the exhibition. Take a look at the website for details - I've sent in two pieces. Details here: http://www.velorose.com
'London💜Dick' is the new exhibition by the Loved Collective and is open to view and hear at the Velorose Gallery just along from the Barbican. I saw the last Loved exhibition in Brixton a couple of years ago so it was good to see this updated version, especially when most galleries are still closed. This was my first exhibition since seeing the Titian at the National Gallery on 16 March and it felt good to be seeing real things on real walls again rather than through a computer screen.
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