Back in February, I went to the Saatchi Gallery. I have always been told that it's really awesome there, and that the art is interesting. I knew that the place was known for it's contemporary art, but hadn't realised that the exhibition at the time was for Modern British Art. I didn't like everything, but as always, it's good to see other people's ideas and interpretations.
These two pieces are by the same artist. She used photography and some sort of perspex type material to give the shiny overall effect (which is why you can see the faint outline of me taking the photo in the picture). I liked the work because she has an interesting way of putting things together. I like her use of colour, particularly in the piece below.
I found this next piece rather intriguing. The entire thing is made up out of old pieces of carpet materials to make a face. Rather scary really, but funnily enough reminded me of African Art. I think it's the use of the bold materials and thick lines. 
This piece actually made me laugh out loud. It's a shame I didn't get more of the artists work. Basically, the artist had a group of photos of people when they were younger, and had them come back years later and pose in exactly the same way and photographed them. I like the idea of seeing the way in which time has changed them all. I took a photo of this one because the facial expression amused me.
This piece really freaked me out. The portrait under the sewing is a photo . For some reason the artist had the idea to sew over the top, by hand I might add. The overall effect reminds me of Spirograph, which I used to use when I was younger. You were given a contraption (I don't know how else to describe it) which you put your pen in, and then traced the shape of the object, which circled around creating a pattern on the paper. The reason I think this freaked me out, is because of the way in which he has chosen to 'Spirograph' the photo, he's obscured most of the face apart from one eye which to me is slightly sinister!
I really liked this piece. I have no idea how, but the artist had made a gold reflective material for the background and painted the cycling figures over the top. The colours used shouldn't really go together, but the whole thing just works. It was a piece that I stood in front of for quite a while, looking at all the figures and taking in the details. I love art work that you can sit in front of for ages and continue to see more and more detail the longer you look. That to me, is the sign of a piece of art.
I think this is actually my favourite piece out of everything I saw that day. This piece reminded me of Monet, with the water landscape. It's not until I got closer the the piece that I realised that the entire work was made using pipe cleaners. The idea is such a simple one and creates such a wonderful effect, perfect for the work the artist was trying to create. The material is flexible making it easy to manipulate into any shape or style the artist chooses. The last picture of this piece is just an example so you can see how every single pipe cleaner is organised into the landscape. The colours are bold and vibrant, and I felt a sense of contentment and peace standing and looking at it.
This work struck me a very strange. On the ground, (or maybe it was the basement) of the gallery was a very big area filled with what appeared to be a series of screens on the floor. The other visitors around me were murmuring excitedly amongst themselves, and to be honest, I just didn't what all the fuss was about. The floor was still, and the room smelt oddly of petrol. Well not petrol exactly, but oil. On closer inspection, the entire room was filled with oil, hence the smell. I remember thinking to myself, "what a bizarre thing to do!" but still I found myself oddly drawn to the room, and standing there for quite some time. I was fascinated by it. I also feel extremely sorry for those of whom have to clean up once the exhibition is over...
This piece is called 'Swarm'. It is in a big glass case, and has masses of the insects like the one pictured above. All the insects are suspended from the top of the case using a very fine wire, or string. The entire work is arranged to look just like a battle scene, with the miniature, human like, skeletal creatures sitting astride the giant insects, holding all sorts of different weapons. This is yet another piece I stood in front of for a long time, taking in the chaos of the scene. There were insects on the floor, which were the creatures that had obviously fallen in the throws of the battle. How the artist managed to make the skeletal figures is completely beyond me. When I read the plaque which stated the artists name and materials they had used, it simply said 'various'.
What an amazing idea, and I can only imagine the amount of time and patience it would have taken to create this piece. I was thoroughly impressed and inspired.
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