Tabish Khan the @LondonArtCritic picks his top 5 exhibitions to see in London in Early November.
Alexis Peskine: Forest Figures @ October Gallery
I’ve always admired his portraits made using nails and this time he’s gone bolder by incorporating plants known for their herbal qualities and works in the shape of the cowrie shells associated with the slave trade. It’s a welcome evolution to his trademark style and they make for powerful pieces.
Until 9th November.
Susan Aldworth: Belongings @ King’s College London, Bush Arcade
Featuring the imagined contents of the suitcase her grandmother brought with her when she was migrating from Northern Italy to London in 1924, Susan Aldworth’s exhibition tells a personal story that also speaks to the wider story of London being a proud city of migrants. Her family stories and photographs are woven into antique dresses, including how a 16-year-old girl was seduced by a local priest and how food and recipes bring people together. Until 8th November.
Shaan Bevan + Owen Pratt: Ex-Voto @ Palmer Gallery
The seemingly abstract drawings are close-ups of body tissues realting to illnesses, whether of the brain, adrenal glands or fallopian tubes. Shaan has survived cancer and other works are dedicated to people in her life who have also suffered from illnesses in these deeply personal works. The large metal sheets have been sealed using a fungal culture and buried, before being unearthed. They now act as resonators projecting the sounds of trees rubbing against each other in the space. It’s an exhibition about the frailty of life and our connection to the Earth, and the longer I spent in there the more it impacted me. Until 9th November.
Yelena Popova: Of Dust and Breath @ Ione & Mann
It’s all about the natural world in Yelena Popova’s paintings whose Earth tones are all created using soil and natural pigments – avoiding the use of petrochemical-based products in her works, and incorporating branches into the exhibition. While her paintings are subtle her tapestry is more striking – featuring a snake eating itself in a show on spiritualism, the cyclical nature of life, and healing the earth and ourselves. Until 7th November.
Gustavo Nazareno, Orixás: Personal Tales on Portraiture @ Opera Gallery
These majestic portraits of Black figures are highly skilled and phenomenal works that feel like a subversion of the European history paintings that often feature white men in these poses. The artist draws inspiration from the Orixas – a pantheon of deities from Afro-Latin religions shown in powerful poses. Until 9th November.
All images copyright and courtesy respective gallery and artist. Alexis Peskine photo © Jonathan Greet. Susan Aldworth photo: Peter Abrahams. Opera Gallery photo copyright Eva Herzog photography.
