Carlos Noronha Feio at Transition and Tales That Witness Madness at Elevator

CARLOS NORONHA FEIO
AA and Away
2 – 25 October 2009
Transition Gallery
London
E8

Carlos Noronha Feio’s work is engaged with the points at which geography and migration meet, where differing cultures collide, interfere and impose their imperatives on each other. He represents these concerns from the personal perspective of his own Portuguese nationality. For the project A A and Away Noronha Feio uses imagery from Afghan carpets as a starting point, particularly those depicting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. However, Noronha Feio admits that as an ‘occidental’ he stands outside of this cultural history and therefore he intervenes by creating his own designs inspired by the carpets. *Transition Gallery*

This exhibit brilliantly showcases the versatility of the gallery and their ethos of showing a wide range of artists working across medium with disparate concerns and subject matter. I was struck by the subtleness of this exhibit and despite the closeness of the artist to the subject (from a personal point of view) he presented a commentary on a situation with out overwhelming the viewer. Using traditionally made rugs Feio reminded me of cultural histories and methods of story telling. Using video *A of Afaganistan* he reminded me of a not to distant violent past still relevant today.

The video *A of Afganistan* (stills bellow) drew me in immediately, the uncomfortable closeness of flesh to ,what could be, the cross hairs, and the helplessly voyeuristic feelings of the viewer watching fragments of, what could be, a violent past was a stark contrast to the more subtle rugs though they depicted less subtle imagery.

A of Afganistan, Video, 2008

Noronha Feio is adamant that what is important in his work is sincerity. The work is not laden with political polemic; his is a quiet and thoughtful approach to an increasingly global interrogation. An artistic investigation of what it is to be different. *Transition Gallery*

Some performance pieces by Carlos Noronha Feio can be found on Utube…….

*************************

TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS
9-25 October 2009
Elevator Gallery
London
E9

A candle lit exhibition of the mental state of those around us? or of what could become of us?

There are some gems within this exhibit, from uncomfortable photography depicting the interior and exterior space of the subject, to the partly decomposed bodies of birds imprisoned within their pretty cages. Nightmarish scenarios of repeated behavior seem hinted at by Iain Sommervills grinning man, seated and staring into the corner of a room surrounded by photographs of a past-the owner of which is unknown.

Brian Cheesewrite

For me Cheeswrites paintings have a more obvious connection to an unstable mental state but also that of hallucination, medicine men and masked spirits.

Jenny Lewis

This space is perfect for such an exhibit, its mix of industrial unit and musty oldness added to an already pulse raising atmosphere. The smell of burning candles and an audio instillation that seemed to be a retelling of horrific and violent nightmares compounded my feelings of confinement (despite the large space)

*some elevators scare me-red ones make my knees wobble*

ARTISTS: BRIAN CHEESWRIGHT, JILL TEGAN DOHERTY, REBECCA EHRLlCH, KARL ENGLAND, CHARLIE TUESDAY GATES, SNOOZlE HEXAGON
JOSIE HILLMAN, MARIE-LOUISE JONES, MAX KIMBER
LAURA MAY LEWIS, JENNY S LEWIS, SUSU LAROCHE, LYNDSAY MARTIN,
CLlNTON DE MENEZES, CARRIE REICHARDT, MARK SCOTT-WOOD,
SYDNEY SOUTHAM, LADISLAW STAREWICZ, lAIN SOMMERVILLE,
SIMON REUBEN WHITE, LITTLE WHITEHEAD

*both of these exhibits are well worth visiting-go see*

October 11th, 2009