Meddling Fiend – Nicola Turner
One of the summer’s highlights for me is the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. It hadn’t registered with me till my niece, Rachel, had a piece accepted in 2015 and I went with my sister to admire Rachel’s work. Until that point, my interest in art tended on the conservative. I had started to look at pieces of art when I attended Jacqui Rowe’s poetry workshops at the Barber Institute in Birmingham. That close observation and Rachel’s developing print work, began to extend my knowledge. Other than during the pandemic, I’ve attended the Summer Exhibition ever since.
Large Weston Room – work selected by Cornelia Parker
I felt privileged this year because not only did I have my sister’s company, but Rachel was free to attend with us. She showed us where she and her friend, Bronwen, celebrated the opening. Nowadays potential exhibitors submit their work on line before the actual pieces are viewed by the committee. Rachel’s was in Cornelia Parker’s Large Weston room because they were prints. Beyond that I don’t know how each member of the RA selects the exhibits they want to display.
Some Hackney Birds
I wandered round enjoying each room and selecting what appealed to me. Also those that didn’t. Wondering why. Later I had another look. A second viewing enabled me to see more. I compare it to reading a poem. I tend to like or not like quickly. A second read may well change my mind because there is something that I have missed. I go for bright colours and/or simple shapes. I suspect it’s also to do with mood. Poems can be reflect a state of mind. On the whole art, work helps us notice the world in a different way. There were quite a few of trees and the urban landscape, as well as human beings and animals. All art may make us see the world differently without making an obvious political point.
Tracey Emin’s work was on display, having been awarded the Charles Wollaston prize for the most distinguished work in this year’s exhibition. (See below)
References:
Meddling Fiend by Nicola Turner greets the visitor in the Annenberg Courtyard. The photo was in the public domain on London Visitors: Word Press guide and review of this year’s summer exhibition. Some Hackney Birds is a print of a mosaic by volunteers under the guidance of Tessa Hunkin. Details of the community project can be found at hackney-mosaic.co.uk. Cornelia Parker explores destruction as a way of creating new work is my simplistic explanation. There are websites that do her work more justice than I am capable of giving it. Suffice it to say – it made me think. My niece, Rachel Duckhouse, lives and works in Glasgow. She has her own website and instagram account.
Summer Exhibition 2024: runs till 18th August.
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