To Newport Street Gallery! …in between dodging rain showers whilst trying to watch a cricket match in early September. GAWD bless Newport Street Gallery. It serves as something of a more than half-decent outpost whenever it’s pissing it down at The Oval.
Exhibiting right now is These Thoughts May Disappear by Jack White. Yep, THAT Jack White. You almost felt as though you should be wearing red and black to enter the gallery space.
We would have stood out if we were. NPS was absolutely empty on Wednesday lunchtime. We pretty much had a private viewing to ourselves.
It’s always a pleasure visiting Newport Street. I still find it pretty amazing that such a contemporary and free space has opened up around the back of Lambeth Walk.
We’ve made our way into the first gallery. Fans of Ukulele Joe won’t be disappointed.
Jack White has used some fancy 3D printing to create exact replicas of a charity shop Ukulele Joe he picked up. Each one has been decorated in a different style.
It’s easy to criticise the idea of a rich rock star turning to art, having the financial security to back them up, But given the chance you would, right?
We kept on wandering. A load of old garden pallets had then been tarted up in a second gallery space. Black and red feature heavily. I’m not sure what paint material was used but they were pleasingly shiny and fresh.
A theme then began to develop of old junk being upholstered. Jack White then tells the story through the exhibition guide of how, before he became a rich rock star, he worked as an upholster.
The legend goes that he was just more than a stitch-up and makeup type of fella. He dropped in secret messages within the inner workings of the furniture he was restoring. There were strong KLF vibes taking place here. I had the urge to sit down on some of the furniture.
You know you’re in a fancy art gallery when all the artwork is available to purchase, but the disclaimer is you have to fill in an application form. I don’t think Jack White wants to sell to any old amateur collector.
The highlight for me was the collection of old White Stripe amps that had been customised by some guest artists. No surprise to see Shepard Fairey and Damien Hirst adding their trademark licks to the amps.
This was also quite an interactive gallery space. You got to play various keyboards and even a theremin that came through the amps. This was tremendous fun.
I absolutely bloody love NPS. It’s a perfect gallery space to exhibit for one artist. You can spend quite easily half an hour in there taking in what is on show. You never feel overwhelmed and you never feel that you have been under-changed even though it’s free, natch.
