Chris Ofili - Shit Art

Chris Ofili, Turner Prize winner 1998, is currently exhibiting at Tate Britain bringing together over 45 paintings from the mid 1990s until now. His intensely coloured works, bring a light and warm air to his work. He produces a rich layering, most notably his use of dung and resin defines his work from his contemporaries.

His earlier works concerned London's black culture with influences from Hip Hop to the prostitution scene of Kings Cross. Ofili's work provides a stark contrast between the feminine painting style and the objectification of women which his paintings may suggest.

Personally, i find his work to be visually appealing, holding a strong sense of humour. His work is a representation of him as a person and his journey through life, with clearly visible references to show this. I have little time for art, which relies upon a 4 page essay to understand each piece. Chris Ofili provides a counterance to this producing contemporary art for now. He has not fallen for the arrogance and pretension which pollutes much of the contemporary scene.

The exhibition is certainly worth visiting if in London. It is not, however, groundbreaking enough to deserve a special visit.

Viktor & Rolf Exhibition - Barbican London

The Viktor and Rolf Exhibition at the Barbican was fantastic, I knew little about Viktor & Rolf only that my mother said they created some rather odd clothes and had concepts for their shows.

The concepts were all very different from the 'Russian Doll' Haute Couture Collection of Fall / Winter 1999/2000 Collection which involved a model walking along the catwalk and as she walked on another dress would be layered on top of the one she was wearing building her up giving an effect similar to that of a Russian Doll.



The Atomic Bomb collection was another interesting show, first the models wore the dresses with inflated pockets in them and then again normally. It symbolised a lot and they gave many reasons for it but i just thought it looked interesting.



The Upside Down collection was truely great the models wore the dresses one way up and the following model wore it 'upside down' with models walking in the arms of the dress there movements seeemed very restricted. It was weird how some of the dresses looked just as good upside down.

- P.S.