Wilson Williams is a new artists’ run project space
in a beautiful Victorian terraced house on Hackney Downs, East London. You
enter through the downstairs doorway, and immediately greeted by a lovely clean
white space. On my left a room with strange music blaring out. Confused and
repelled by the music I turn to my right and proceed up the stairs. Which
opens up to two long thin rooms, with various people mingling about peering
deeply into the artworks or chatting. I am guided to the far room, which is
quieter, and Sonke Faltien’s Reisen a group of large color photographs, which
examine the landscapes surrounding Germany’s 14 nuclear power stations, all
which were active at the time, immediately strikes me. A Native Dalstonian he
seemed very at ease with both his photograph mounted on the wall and his book’s
containing 14 picture postcards. These self confessed sublime images are so
beautiful you miss the grotesque nuclear power plant that sits dominant in the
background. The juxtaposition between these landscape postcards and the
“ugliness” of the power stations is a deep psychological exploration of the
human. The facade that we show and the reality of what is behind. The utopian
dreams that we wish to fulfill and our inabilities to achieve those dreams. As
Faltien writes “Germany strives to leave the nuclear era behind, a once futuristic idael has itself become archaic.” The other artworks that I saw were very interesting apart from the derivative Boa Swindler, she collages images of women dressed in bondage behind funky backgrounds. It reminds me of a bad 80′s record cover. However it fails
to raise my interest with titles like “when I say yes I really mean no”. Even
if she was being ironic I was bored, it didn’t even make me angry.

A piece that did catch my eye was Ben
Sadlers “plans for finding true love” A take on Twombly, which doesn’t have his
freneticism but seems more analytical and less intense. The blue dashes vibrate
luminously against the white of the surface. This triptych of slightly
disheveled boards are a diary or a collection of memories documented. The show
was a lovely surprise that eliminated all the pomposity of the gallery space
and allowed a new breath of fresh air. I recommend going to see the gallery. check it out.