following a tip off from kester (thanks), jen and i booked in to visit china power station part 1 yesterday. the serpentine gallery is hosting an exhibition of contemporary chinese artists at battersea power station. the exhibition finishes on november 5 so you need to be quick if you want to visit.
battersea power station has been laid waste for decades but is iconic in the london sky line. every time you drive along the embankment or catch a train south from victoria it dominates the sky. it’s going to be redeveloped as an entertainment centre with cinemas, theatres, galleries and shops. so this is probably the only chance to see it as it is at the moment. it makes a stunning setting for any exhibition. a lot of the chinese art work is video based which works really well in the industrial setting tucked between huge girders in darkened rooms.
to top it all off, there’s a tea house serving tea and cakes – the most expensive tea i’ve ever had but very welcome after strolling round. i have added a slide set china power station part 1 – all in black and white as it seemed to suit the industrial vibe.
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wasn’t the cover of pink floyd’s animals record shot there? I think they had several giant inflatable pigs tethered to the stacks.
I always liked the story about how, despite a team of crack marksmen ready to shoot down errant inflatables, a blow-up pig escaped only to land some time later in Kent.
Don’t MLS own this?
ha! that’s a good rumour to start 😉
I really think that it is the truth. I read in somewhere in a book about the cover art of pink floyd, the sharpshooter bit.
i wasn’t questioning that – sorry i was responding to nic’s comment!
hey its all good. it does sound pretty outlandish.