Exhibition Review: In Depth at Unit 5 Gallery
Photography by Nikol Chen
NIKOL CHEN HAS A LOOK AROUND THIS COLLECTIVE EXHIBITION OF STREET ART SCULPTURE AND INSTALLATIONS AT HACKNEY’S UNIT 5 GALLERY.
Twenty-two acclaimed artists from all over the world assembled in a group exhibition under the roof of Unit 5 Gallery this February. Best known for their work on the streets of London and other major cities, such as Chicago, Berlin, and Miami, the artists showcase their three-dimensional creations that are not even a little bit less striking than their murals.
It is incredibly rare that street artists are presented with the opportunity to show the audience what they can do beyond the flat city walls so, rest assured that they brought their A-game when creating sculptures and installations for the show. Utilising materials, such as bronze, card, and even actual trees, the artists translated their unique voices from flat surfaces to stunning tangible objects.
Ronzo (@rzo1) created floating cardboard characters of his video game, Derrick the Deathfin, which you can play in the gallery, alongside Josh Jeavons’ (@joshjeavons) Stumbling Jenga Blocks. Both pieces are interactive and allow the audience to be involved with the artwork, changing and affecting it.
The essential idea of the show is best well-demonstrated by Mobstr (@m.obstr), who is famous for his text stencils, which he uses to mess around with council workers, who try to remove them from city walls. Mobstr converted his sarcastic stencils into a witty see-through installation made of resin, called I Need to be Upstanding Because People See Right Through Me. Staying true to himself, the artist used the opportunity to create a palpable object, going beyond the bounds of his usual medium.
Having a group of artists from different backgrounds working on one collaborative exhibition definitely allows the visitors to enjoy a showcase of diverse range of works. In one corner you see a small vulgar piece by Edwin (@edwinonwalls) that signifies modern obsession with oneself (featuring the artist’s real pubic hair), and in another corner you can appreciate what appears to be an ordinary workspace, which is actually a piece by Slinkachu (@slinkachu_official) that captures the life of a typical employee in Tipping Point, with impeccable attention to detail.
The project does not stay within the enclosed space of the gallery. You can see the artists’ works around (and beyond) Hackney, on their usual medium of walls. Just around the corner, on Hackney Road, Axel Void (@axelvoid) created a gigantic mural on the surface of an apartment block building, which can be seen after appreciating the concrete busts he has created for the exhibition.
In Depth is showing from February 10th until February 26th at the Unit 5 Gallery London on Yorkton St, just off Hackney Road. Admission is free.