The trains from Stratford were full as London’s creatives headed for Hackney Wick this weekend. Or at least the ones that don’t live there anyway. There was an atmosphere of both the whacky and the downright normal for the sixth Hackney WickED festival centred on Queen’s Yard – a peculiar name for a seething, melée of artistic endeavour that doesn’t seem very monarchist. However Hackney WickED is an arts fest celebrating the creativity of the whole local area and extends right round the Wick.
With over forty galleries and studio complexes open to the public it was a great opportunity to see fine artists in the wild. Most were in their natural environment, surrounded by tubes of paint and rolls of canvas, though an honourable exception was Michael Hlousek-Nagle, whose studio was an elegant cabinet of curiosities. He paints thinly layered images based in the Western figurative tradition, but involving collaged elements. Smooth, photorealist images of humans – a subject that will never disappear as long as aliens don’t take over and enslave us all.
All around the Wick were pop-up cafes serving food from around the world. Chorizo buns, Arancini risotto balls and Ghanaian street food all featured. Buskers Corner featured musicians, spoken-word artists and purveyors of fancies. The art market Fate for the WickED had art stalls where you could buy prints and other works, have your portrait snapped as a police suspect, buy zines or watch artists doing live paintings. Many of the studios in the area were open, with the artists on hand to talk about their work. Sarah Cooney displayed a series of her work investigating paint and process. The Printed Chair showed reclaimed, traditionally upholstered furniture with a twist. Each was decorated with bold, original screen prints. There were many, many more studios that you could wander around, chat to the artists and imbibe the creativity.
The Demolition project re-imagined London, allowing people to destroy things they disliked about the city. Suggestions ranged from ugly flyovers to the gleaming towers of the bankers in the city. With a scapel anyone could take part. Participants were getting rid of ugly, although by the end of the weekend – given the location of the map – most of London would have been replaced by brick wall.
As a young critic commented upon walking into the Mother Studios, It’s performance art, innit? Spot on my friend. Kate Mahony performed a piece described in the website blurb as Kate Mahony will be on a partially deflated space hopper for 2 hours. That is a description cannot be improved upon.
Other events over the weekend included ArtRoulette, live painting and video performances, sonic installations and tumbling. There were artistic development workshops, such as Street Art Photography, Photograms, and memory mapping. Hackney WickED has too much to see in one weekend, it’s a shame it doesn’t last longer.
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