Property Guardian
by Alex Frost
5 June – 2 August Opening 4 June 6–9pm
An exhibition of new mixed media sculptures and drawings that use and manipulate motifs relating to the home and domesticity, from Alex Frost’s residency at Flat Time House. A reflexive exercise, these works have been made whilst living and working in a home, gallery and archive. They have developed out of an investigation into the role of artists within a community, and the way in which the living conditions of artists have been politicised through the current culture of property speculation, and property guardianship programmes in particular. Alex’s work is made not with any critical distance but rather from a conflicted and implicated position.
Photo: Static Image
The objects are playful and poetic reconfigurations of domestic detritus through homespun processes including pewter casts of objects – keys, coins and frozen foods – found around the house and made using Flat Time House's barbecue as a home foundry or mint. Also a series of polymer plate rubbings (exposed using local street lights) of objects left behind by previous artist-in-residence; a hotel key card, a book and magazine. Alongside hoarded ceramic ornaments – novelty mugs, jugs and teapots, piggy banks – that have been smashed and reassembled into new and unlikely forms. Oven shrunk food packaging for domesticated animals are petrified and preserved within resin tablets. Their making process of shrinking and preserving channels childhood experimentation. Finally there will be a sand sculpture of a brick barbecue in the garden, degrading over the duration of the exhibition.
This collection of objects is intended be seen in their entirety (specific titles are eschewed). This is further emphasised by the blacking out of all the gallery windows. Heightening the private/public dichotomy that is at the root of this work.
Buy Property Guardian publication with an essay by Josephine Berry and introduction by Claire Louise Stauton. Also available with a limited edition cast coin.
Alex Frost currently lives and works in London. He was born and grew up in London. From 1995 – 2015 he lived and worked in Glasgow. Alex Frost works between public and gallery settings. His work is often made in response to the particularities of its location.
Alex Frost's was the 2014 Phynance Resident, supported by the Estate of Barry Flanagan.
Photo: Static Image
Photo: Static Image
Photo: Static Image
Photo: Static Image
Photo: Static Image
Alongside ‘Property Guardian’ runs the Peckham Art Press Release Archive, an archive of paper press releases from exhibitions, events, projects in Peckham since 2000. During the exhibition Alex Frost will be taking submissions to this archive. This archive incorporates items from the John Latham archive, in particular those referencing the Bellenden Renewal Project – Latham's contribution being the book sculpture that punctures the face of the gallery.