Just Like That, curated by Theo Ellison.
In his most well-known routine, the comedian Simon Munnery deconstructs a line from a review of his stand-up, which describes his act as ‘the closest that comedy gets to modern art’ - a quote which he runs with to interpret that bad art is “perilously close to being comedy”.
Humour has always been treated with suspicion within art and other high-culture pursuits. When it does present itself, it’s often under the remit of an ‘art-world humour’ that’s laced with a knowing irony; even the mainstays of comedic art like the Dadaists are geared more towards amusement rather than laughter. This exhibition explores that strange disconnect and digs into the role of humour within art; the relationship between irony and sincerity, the influence of comedy on video and performance art, the commonalities and differences between humour and art-world humour, and how it operates within and between self-contained artworks.
Within that framework, the artworks in the show play with the imagery of meme aesthetics, art-world absurdism, hyper-machismo, sitcom narratives, black comedy, anthropomorphic dogs, book titles, incongruous objects, charismatic boxers and Steve Coogan.
Named after the catchphrase of fez-adorned comedian Tommy Cooper, Just Like That features works by artists and comedians that range across painting, video, sculpture and photography as well as a one-off communal stand-up gig by comedian Trevor Lock.
Text: Theo Ellison, 2023
Bedwyr Williams (b.1974, St. Asaph, Wales), lives and works in Penisa'r-waun, Wales. He graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins and is represented by Southard Reid, London. Recent solo shows include Do the Little Things, Ancient Connections, Ferns, County Wexford and St Davids Cathedral, Pembrokeshire, UK (2022); Milquetoast, Southwark Park Galleries, London, touring to Tŷ Pawb, Wrexham, Wales and KARST, Plymouth (2021); Hypercaust / Y Tyrrau Mawr (The Big Towers), Southard Reid, London, UK (2019). Williams represented Wales at the Venice Biennale 2013.
Campbell Mcconnell (b.1995, UK) lives and works in London where he is currently participating in the Conditions studio programme. McConnell graduated in 2018 with a BA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins and completed an alternative MA in 2021 with School of the Damned. Recent exhibitions include; Ghost Show, The Haunted House, Unit AG.1 Copeland Park, London, 2022; Big Rat Studio, Hastings, 2022; Harbouring Delusion, Cheap Cheap Gallery, Birmingham, 2022; BF Artist Film Festival, Whitechapel
Clara Hastrup (b.1990, Århus, Denmark) lives and works in London. She received her BA in Painting and Printmaking from The Glasgow School of Art in 2016 and her Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art from the Royal Academy Schools in 2021. For her degree show Fishdriver (run free), 2021, Clara was awarded the Patrizia Turner Prize and the Almacantar Studio Award. Recent solo exhibitions include: Prickly Tunes, Somers Gallery, London, 2022; Tomato Potato, Quench Gallery, Margate, 2022; Fool Me, Fool Me, Incubator22, London, 2022; Organic Behaviour, LAMB Gallery, London, 2023.
Freddie Meredith (b.1993, London, England) lives and works in London. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2015. Acting credits include Big Boys, Channel 4, 2022; Three Sisters, Almeida Theatre, London, 2019; The Crown, Netflix, 2016. Meredith wrote and starred in Frank (2022), a short film produced by Steve Coogan’s production company Baby Cow. He performs live comedy regularly at the Knock2Bag Comedy Night at Moth Club, London.
Hannah Pearce (b.1996, UK) lives and works in London where she graduated from Chelsea College of Arts in 2019. Pearce exhibited in and curated shows in London before moving into alternative areas of sculpting. She sculpted for Winter Wonderland 2022 with Hamilton Ice Sculptors and was a candy sculptor and maker for Spun Candy, London. She previously ran life drawing classes in Kent and lived and worked on a farm where she reared and cared for cows.
Heidi Pearce (b.1996, UK) lives and works in London. She graduated with a BA in Fine from Goldsmiths in 2019 and is currently a member of The School of the Damned alternative masters program. Pearce regularly exhibits in and around London with solo shows at Bermondsey Project Space and with Danuser & Ramirez, London, 2022. Other exhibitions include Creature Comforts, JGM Gallery, London, 2023; What the Future Holds, Bern, Switzerland, 2022; Permanent Temporary, London Design Festival, 2022; Let Them Eat Fake, Bad Art presents, London, 2022; StART Art Fair, Saatchi Gallery, London, 2021; Honey I’m Home?! With Tobias Bradford, Limbo Collective, London, 2018.
Huey Crowley (b.1987, Rhinelander, Wisconsin, USA) lives and works in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He received his BFA in 2009 from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. Crowley is represented by Tatjana Pieters Gallery in Ghent, Belgium. He has held solo exhibitions across Europe and the United States. Recent solo exhibitions include: The President of Legend Shit of America, Frank Gallery, Malmö, Sweden, 2022; Have A Bud Lite Xmas, Brian Leo Projects, NYC, 2020; Slakt Presenterer Huey Crowley, Slakt Galleri Bergen, Norway, 2019; Mister Pinecone, Lungley Gallery, London, UK, 2018.
Kit Trowbridge (b.1993, Maryland, USA) lives and works in London. She graduated with a BFA from the University of Michigan in 2015 followed by an MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art in 2018. Solo exhibitions include Stills at the Metropolitan Center for the Visual Arts (Maryland) where she was also the Fleur & Charles Bresler Resident, and Maxims at the Haywood Gallery, London, 2018. Kit has also shown at Sluice HQ curated by IKO, 2018; PUPs Gallery, 2019; the Function Suite, 2022; Piccalilli Gallery, 2022 (all London) and Tatjana Pieters Gallery, Gent, Belgium, 2023.
Theo Ellison (b.1990, London, England) lives and works in London. He graduated with an MA in Photography from the Royal College of Art in 2017. Recent exhibitions include; CIRCA Class of 2022 screened simultaneously at Piccadilly Lights, London, Limes, Berlin, K-Pop Square, Seoul, South Korea, Fed Square, Melbourne, Australia, 2022; Lovely View, Way Out East, London, 2022; Ancient Mew, Conditions, Croydon, UK, 2022; The Football Art Prize, which toured at Touchstones Rochdale, Millennium Gallery, Sheffield, Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, UK, 2022; NatureMax, Giant Gallery, Bournemouth, 2022; Sports Casual, Palfrey, London, 2021.
Trevor Lock (b.1973, Lincoln, England) lives and works between London and Shimokitazawa, Tokyo. He graduated in 1996 with a BA in Philosophy from University College London. Lock featured in the cult BBC comedy programme This Morning with Richard Not Judy (BBC, 1998-1999), has shown internationally and is a frequent performer at the Edinburgh Fringe. Lock has toured with Stewart Lee, Daniel Kitson, Chris Dangerfield and Paul Foot. Recent solo shows include Community Circle (2014) which received 5 star reviews in The Scotsman and the Daily Mirror; We Are Each Other (2021); The Most Interesting Person in the Room (2022).
Winnie Hall (b.1998, London, England) lives and works in London. She graduated in 2020 with a BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts and went on to take part in Conditions, a studio programme based in Croydon. In 2022 she was selected for Bloomberg New Contemporaries, showing works in Ferens Art Gallery, Hull and South London Gallery. In 2022 she was granted funding to develop her practice from Arts Council England. Hall is currently artist-in-residence at OOF Gallery, situated in Tottenham Hotspur football stadium.
Just Like That | press release
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