Signs of Life

Velorose

1 July - 1 September

For May Day 2022, Golden Lane and Barbican Estate residents collaborated to stage a community event, and were invited to create a protest placard, which might highlight a world emergency or crisis – or a more local issue affecting residents, such as the state of the estate itself. The results are both mixed and marvellous, and this exhibition displays evidence of the thought and effort, as well as the spontaneity and creativity, of the people from two neighbouring estates who participated that day to express what mattered to them then.

The exhibition also features the works of artists associated with this show, but deliberately eschews gallery and art-world convention by not identifying the maker of the artwork in favour of a sense of community; the show includes a ‘Spectres of Modernism’ banner – from the Golden Lane protest curated by Clare Carolin (including the work of Turner Prize-winning artists) – and papier-mâché creatures made for the original event by students and their teacher at the local Charterhouse Square School.

Alongside ‘Signs of Life’, Velorose has launched its latest Mail Art Project, where you’re the artist; ‘Protest Too Much?’ invites everyone to take inspiration from the exhibition, and to make a protest postcard there and then, or to do so from a distance and to mail your postcard to the gallery (see velorose.com for details). Identify what you believe should be protested – about the state of where you or we live, work or play (a building, development, streets and open spaces, cities, countryside, desert, seas, Planet Earth – and beyond).

‘Signs of Life’ was originally a proud part of the London Festival of Architecture in June 2022.

Mondays to Fridays, 11:00h to 19:00h