The exhibition that gives hope
The Koestler Arts exhibition is open to all inmates of prisons and secure hospitals and this year it is curated by Turner Prize winner Jeremy Deller and John Costi, who has the advantage over Deller because he has actually been to jail and won a Koestler prize for his art, writes Michael Holland.
Theirs is a good story. They became friends when John was given a scholarship to visit Deller’s exhibition at the Venice Biennale, where they developed a rapport. And to stay true to their own collaborative approach, the curators invited six other artists to help select the art for the exhibition.
Who curates the show subconsciously leaves their mark on the show because there will be some inevitable bias when choosing the work. It doesn’t make the art any less or more worthy, but it does put their own personal stamp of approval on it. When Grayson Perry curated the show it was an explosion of colour. This year I feel there is more humour connected to a lot of the work.
Having some experience of the Koestler Exhibition (I was one of the non-fiction writing judges this year), I went along hoping to see art that was not a dark reflection of the artist’s current situation, a ‘these four grey walls that surround me’ syndrome. I wanted to see art that the artist had used to escape the walls and bars and locks. And it was there in abundance.
A pair of slippers created from tea leaves and glue made me smile. Its title? Feet Up Cuppa Tea Ready.
A Coat of Cards was perhaps a metaphor for the ever-changing styles that have no real foundation in life’s real needs.
I liked the security camera called See, concocted from acrylic, cardboard, painting, string and wood, and which looked very real.
The buffoon Johnson was displayed nicely in a PartyGate hat, and there was a splendid play on words for a camp Putin in a KGBTQ+ sash: Tsars in Their Eyes.
There was the very creative; one inmate carved animals from his Jenga set, while another made the most saddest eyes in their sculpture of a mother and baby.
But my favourite was Great British Seaside by a Young Offender. It depicted a gull closing in on fish and chips, an artwork that evoked days out at the coast, the noise and smell of the sea, a walk along the prom. Unnoticed by many viewers, I would guess, is that the fish and chips is wrapped in the prison newspaper, The Inside Times.
The Koestler Arts exhibition gives hope – and sometimes help – to those who only find their hidden talent when locked up. Costi himself is a prime example of what can be achieved. He is quoted as saying: ‘I was told art wasn’t for me. It took me going to prison to realise it was.’
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Toad, SE1 8XX until 12th December. Mon: 10am – 5.30pm; Tue & Wed: 10am – 8pm; Thu: 10am – 5pm; Fri – Sun: 10am – 8pm. Admission: Free.
