Pullens Yard Open Studios

As frequent readers are all too aware, we here at the Runoff love nothing more than anonymously sticking our noses where they don’t belong. And you too can take part in our passion/dysfunction by attending the great Pullens Yard Open Studios weekend taking place on 7-9 June in Walworth.

Pullens Yards (Clements, Peacock and the large Iliffe Yard) are an amazing collection of 1880’s workhouses which were originally designed for the people who lived in the nearby Pullens Estate. We wrote about the fascinating squatting history of the estate a few years ago. Instead of being converted into luxury flats, the Yards serve the same purpose as they did 140 years go, and the cabinet makers and blacksmiths have been replaced by potters, jewellery makers, card makers and folks who make things that smell nice. We once bought moth balls disguised by little knitted mice.

The studios at Pullens Yards are usually not open to the public, but twice a year they fling their doors open to give us a glimpse into their creative universe. The artists are more than happy to show you what and how they create, and of course you can buy what’s on show. And buying is by no means compulsory, as at the end the day these folks just want to show off how creative they are and it’s totally free. Have we mentioned how much we love free?

A visit to the Yards is a fun way to spend a morning or a late afternoon searching for quirky and unnecessary things. In the past we’ve encountered live music, food for sale, a bar provided by Orbit Brewery(!) and bumped into neighbours. In 2022 we went on a wet Friday night which proved particularly evocative. And who knows, you just might discover a previously unrealised desire to own a necklace made out of forks or a room deodoriser fashioned as a piece of cheese.

And if you’re hungry or want some tea, check out the great and very quirky Electric Elephant Café. 

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You are Going to Die @ Southwark Playhouse

Life is hard, and once in a while all you really want to do is catch a play with a naked man sprinting around a smoking toilet. Such a play has arrived in our anointed patch and while this specific production might not be your pot of tea, it might open your eyes to the more mainstream offerings over at both branches of the Playhouse.  Of course we’ve checked it out for you.

You Are Going to Die was the breakout play at Edinburgh Fringe last year and was received with rave reviews. With the use of his body, the actor/creator takes us through a series of nude vignettes which feature different people at different ages. Themes of climate change, rejection and alienation in a fast moving world are abiding themes. His presentation is at times vulnerable and at others menacing and anarchic. With all this heavy material the piece (all 70 minutes of it) is, ironically, often humorous, especially when he addresses the audience directly. During our show he was able to tell off two late arrivals by only using his body. 

If penises swinging about isn’t exactly what you’re looking for on a night out, Southwark Playhouse has two local houses (the Newington Butts venue is shiningly new and we’ve reviewed it here) with a wide variety of quickly changing shows. At the moment they are also showing in interesting new play about football fans and in May an ‘adult fairy tale’ about Sappho. 

You Are Going to Die is on now until 4 May and tickets are £26. We can assure you, it won’t be boring but it isn’t for everyone. And the Borough outlet has a cracking bar which is open to the public.

Shopping and (kind of) Dating

We’ve been big fans of Solo Craft Fair since they opened in Elephant Stores (in Elephant Park) a few years ago, and were here to tell you about an upcoming yummy event. In case you don’t know, Solo is a collective of 60 mostly female owned small businesses selling all sorts of things you don’t really need but must have, from earrings to gift cards to candles.

On 31 March, Solo will be having another instalment of their Blind Date With a Book event. This got us very excited as many of us in the office have vast experience of blind dates (and on a number of those we wish we’d been blind ourselves) However, when we reached out to SoLo they explained that there is no actual dating involved. What it cleverly entails is selecting a wrapped up book with written clues about the book on the wrapping, and you select based on your moods. One might contain a £10 voucher. You then take the book away and go on dates with it by reading it. A lot cheaper than dating an actual human with no worries about drunken date photos popping up on Instagram. 

As dating can be emotionally and physically draining, you could do a lot worse than grab a toastie or hot drink at Little Louie, also in Elephant Stores. And while you’re there why not pick up a a French school desk or a giant reclaimed letter ‘A’? 


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Bert Hardy @ Photographer’s Gallery

If you’re not a regular Runoff reader (and if not, we kind of feel sorry for you), you’ll be aware that it is with a heavy heart that we recommend activities outside of our anointed patch. But recommend we are, and it the retrospective show of Bert Hardy at the Photographer’s Gallery, and we wrote about the man last year.

For many years Hardy worked for Picture Post magazine and his speciality was war photography. In between war work, Hardy would return to his native Southwark to photograph everyday life in post WWII Elephant and Castle. This culminated in his most celebrated tome of work ‘Scenes from the Elephant’, published in 1949. While this show is about his entire oeuvre of work, there are a number of photos from ‘Scenes’ 

Bert Hardy: Photojournalism in War and Peace is on now until 2 June. Admission is a spiffy £6.50 also also gains you admission to the Deutsche Bourse Photography prize and some other thrilling bits of photo fun. And if the concept of the West End is daunting and bleak, the Gallery is just around the corner from the equally bleak Oxford Circus tube, but worth it. 

Gasworks & Camera Club

Gasworks

Do you like knitwear? Do you like exhibition spaces that are never boring? Then you’re in luck as we just saw the thought provoking show ‘Holes’ at Gasworks Gallery in Oval  by UK based Ukrainian artist Anna Perach

Using the medium of knitted wool, Perach explores how the female body is viewed by a male patriarchy as something that transgresses nature and morality, a good example being 17th century witch trials. This is about control, and Perach most vividly captures this in a richly decorated anatomical Venus sculpture in the middle of the room. Even without interpretation, the textiles are a sight to behold and even the doors are knitted. We suggest handling the doors carefully to avoid being told off, as we were.

At its core, Holes is about women having agency and gaining control of their bodies and presented in a way that transcends flesh. We’re aware that this all sounds like a very heavy buzzkill, but the textiles are really quite beautiful and a pleasing way to build some brain cells. It also smells nice.

Holes is on now until 26 April and is totally free. Gasworks is open Wed – Sun 12 to 6. 

Camera Club 

We also recently visited the show ‘Hortus Maximus’ at the little known Camera Club off Kennington Cross. The exhibit is about vegetables and was originally created as a site specific installation for the walls of Cinnamon Kitchen in Bishopsgate by the artist Cinnamon Faye. We’re not exactly sure if she was named after the restaurant but we’re looking into it. 

In a world of Tesco meal deals and Frankenfoods, this exhibit is a celebration of edible plants and the remarkable shapes they possess. Shot in large format monochrome using natural light, the foods are printed to resemble etchings of fossils or petrified wood. Faye has focussed on chilis and other foods known for their healing properties, with a few bendy gourds that look nice under a camera. The show also features women from around the world presenting themselves to the planet while holding vegetables. 

As obscure as the Camera Club is to most of us, it is one of the longest running photographic societies in the world. We know this to be true as we read it online. Hortus Maximus is open now until 23 Feb and is totally free. The Camera club is open daily from 11:00am to 10:00pm and weekends from 10:00am to 6:00pm. And we have no idea why they’re open over 70 hours a week. 

Sundy and Neither

With a little more time on your hands over the next few days, you might be seeking a pedestrian destination and we have a suggestion for you.  A few years ago two empty shop fronts were converted into petite, pop up gallery spaces. One is called Sundy and is at 63 Black Prince Road in Vauxhall. The other is called Neither and is at 3 Wincott Parade in Kennington. Although they have restrictive opening times, through the windows we’ve enjoyed the cutting and sometimes playful displays that rotate every few weeks. 

The ownership of these mysterious yet delightful shop fronts began to intrigue us so the mandarins at Runoff Towers gave us leave to undertake some independent research. Neither is an operated by  Corvi Mora gallery in Elephant. Sundy is also a commercial gallery and this little shop front acts as their primary exhibition space.

At Neither, one of the pieces is by sculptor Julian Opie of Blur album cover fame (for Millenials who have no idea who Blur are click here). The other is by Charles LeDray. At the time of writing this show was ending but the works might still be there. At Sundy the works are a bit harder to see and are by Tobias Teschner. 

We’d like to give a shout out to @guyaker for reminding us of these little mysteries and to also congratulate him on his impeccable taste in blogs. 

Ken Artspace

In the midst of the Kennington Cross triangle nestles a quiet gallery that until last week the Runoff had never visited. Ken Artspace is run by artists Agalis and Rob, who live upstairs and decided to create a gallery space on the ground floor when the property beneath them became available. In the 1960’s the space was inhabited by a grocery/pet shop with a sign that read ‘Mixed Marvels’ at the upper level and this inspired the artistic duo to curate a show themed on the sign. 

Ken Artspace’s most recent exhibit is named after the aforementioned sign and features eight established artists, most of whom have had a solo show at  Artspace, working on small canvases. Microbial beings, cellular shapes, and dreamy Swedish landscapes fill the room as well as more figurative mixed media works about travel. A stand out for us was Jeffrey Dennis’s paintings inspired by 1970’s catalogues of home furnishings. We particularly enjoyed the series ‘Boxhead’ by London artist Jane Gifford, below, as it reminds us of the way that most of PR team feel the morning after the Runoff Christmas party at the Tommyfield pub. 

If this exhibit doesn’t tickle your artistic  fancy your artistic collarbone you might want to follow them on the socials as they have an intriguing mix of occasional pop up exhibitions and little events. The creative installations in the window also provide visual relief on a little street punctuated by a dry cleaner, a chippie, and a defunct Chinese joint. And of course, popping in by no means obliges to you buy anything or is even a statement that you’re an art fan.   Happy viewing! 

Mixed Marvels is exhibiting now until 22 December. The gallery is open Thursday to Saturday and like all tasty morsels in life, is totally free. 

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The New Gallery at IWM

Last week we attended the gala opening* of the spanking new Blavatnik Art, Film and Photography Galleries at the best museum we bet you’ve never been to, our very own Imperial War Museum. This permanent gallery is a valued addition to the Greater Kennington cultural landscape (it’s a thing, trust us) and includes works by Henry Moore, John Singer Sargent, Walter Sickert, Cecil Beaton, and Wyndham Lewis to name but a few. 

The galleries are laid out by themes and are chronological, from WW1 to 21st century conflicts. As with the other display areas at IWM, these new galleries don’t seek to glorify war but rather to explain it and how it can be avoided. This is achieved by a captivating mix of propaganda posters, photographs (the gallery own 12 million),  armaments, film clips, cameras, and first hand accounts. But the great achievement here are the paintings, with the highlight being the recently restored work ‘Gassed’ by Sargent (below). We could have probably spent several days in the gallery’s two screening rooms but the Runoff overlords would have none of it. The reel of clips range from footage of the D-day landings to advice about how to make a wartime compost heap. 

Gassed

Rather than being a historical record, the galleries include current work showcasing the conspicuous talent of artists such as Steve McQueen (the Oscar winning artist, not the formerly living action hero). He’s represented here by his artwork ‘Queen and Country’. Also in the mix are descriptions of anti war protests, marches, and attempts to avoid war. This is interesting in its own right, but especially when  considering the complex dynamics of what is transpiring in Gaza and Israel at the moment. But a celebration of war artists and photographers is the beating heart of these expansive and well thought out galleries.

You might be reading this and thinking that the IWM is nationalistic and not your cup of chai. We get that, but we are duly challenging you to get your Guardian reading, tofu buying  selves over to the IWM when you have a spare hour of two.  And as you’ll be in the neighbourhood anyway, why not check out the fascinating exhibit about spies and deception that we wrote about a few weeks ago? Did we mention that they have a stonking café with pretty cakes and sarnies? 

*We coincidently pitched up the day it opened 

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The Great Volcano of Walworth

Are the proud residents of Walworth aware that you once in your very midst had a Vesuvius like, spewing cauldron of a volcano? It was part of the Surrey Zoological Gardens and we wrote about the gardens and the poor critters who lived there over the summer. 

Surrey Zoological Gardens were established in 1831 and situated roughly where Pasley Park currently resides. There are interesting signs in the park detailing the brief but exciting existence of its previous inhabitants and well worth a casual visit. At one side of the vast garden landscape (this was primarily farmland at the time) was a large lake with paddling boats. To get in the punters, the proprietor commissioned a painted illustration of Vesuvius and the city of Naples at the back of the lake, and due to demand later pimped this up with a much bigger landscape, requiring 7000 yards of canvas. This created the illusion that boaters were in a palm fringed Bay of Naples as opposed to a weedy swamp in south London. 

The competition to attract pleasure seekers in early 19th century London was tough, and the gardens decided to ape reality in another way by making the painting more immersive. At sunset Vesuvius would come to life by erupting with smoke, fire, underground thunder, and even fireworks. This added titillation was a sensation for people at the time and they flocked in their thousands. If punters got bored there were the added attractions of a music hall, food, and a menagerie of exotic but totally misunderstood animals. 

Sadly, the allure of premature death at the hands of fake molten lava and flying rocks grew old, and after 1847 there is no more mention of our enormous painting and the spewing fire behind it.  And several years after the Gardens themselves closed owing to the allure of Crystal Palace further down the road and the libidinal pleasures of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, which itself was in its final days. Proof as it was ever needed that attracting the attention of Londoners is by no means a current undertaking. 

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Cruising for a Bruising

We like to check out the latest exhibits at our very own Gasworks Gallery in Oval as we care about our readers and the gallery is just a little unorthodox (Styrofoam coffins!). The current exhibition is by artist Trevor Yeung and he uses the structure and maintenance of plants to explore how humans relate to one another, and in the show delves into how people use nature in the gay cruising area of Hampstead Heath, which has been popular with cruisers (famously George Michael) since the 19th century. 

The gallery rooms are almost totally dark so you might want to let your eyes adjust when you enter the immersive space or you’ll be cruising for a bruising. Once adjusted, you’re in an ethereal wooded space just before sunrise and you’ll need to rely on the sounds and smell of nature to guide you. The smell is of pheromones, earth, and Lynx body spray. You’ll also notice landmarks such the famous ‘piss tree’ in addition to a tinkling fountain, acorns and leaves. 

What Yeung has created is a clandestine world loaded with feelings punctuated by brief, fleeting encounters. The brevity is mirrored in a misty early morning shroud that will itself disappear quickly. To some this part of London might be very well known, to others it’s as shrouded as the rooms that Yeung has created. 

We told you it was dark

Most of us in the office know London well and have never heard of the aforementioned ‘piss tree’. When your scribe asked Phil from accounts he squirmed in his seat and replied, while not taking his eye off his spreadsheet, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’. We believe you, Phil. 

Trevor Yeung: Soft Ground is open now until 18 December and is totally free. Gasworks is open from 12:00 – 5:00 Wednesday to Sunday so you’ve been advised. Associated with Soft Ground, there is a scent workshop this Saturday from 12 – 3 exploring scents and how they make us feel. We don’t have evidence that this is linked to the piss tree. 

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