John Aldus’s Tokens,
were made in 2009, were installed on Marchmont Parade on Marchmont Street. In
total there are 20 pieces of “Tokens” altogether. The Marchmont Parade was
created in partnership between the Marchmont Association., Camden Council,
Allied London Properties, Hermes, Brunswick TRA and John Aldus. The
installation was opened in summer 2010.
Marchmont Street and Brunswick Centre were built on the
Foundling Estate where Foundling Hospital stood. The story behind Foundling
Hospital was that Thomas Coram was disgusted by the appalling conditions of the
very poor and socially excluded children were living in describing it as “left
to die on dung hills”. This led him to gather a set of influential Governors
(William Hogarth and George Frederic Handel) seek the royal patronage of King
George II. He built the Foundling Hospital in 1739 which became Britain’s first
home for abandoned children.
Mothers would leave so that when they were in a potentially
a better position, they will return and reclaim their child. As a way to know
who their child was if they find that they are able to return, the mothers
would leave token with a lot of them taking forms of a heart, one of which has
become one of Aldus’s token. The tokens, most of which can now be found at the
Foundling Museum, became symbols of the social history of the times when
mothers were reduced to handing in their children in hopes of a better future
as a reason of poverty and rules of society.
Another story behind one of Aldus’s Token is the circular coloured pieces on two of the pavement slabs.
When mothers wanted to give in their child into the Hospital, they had to pick
from either a bag for either for the boys or the girls accordingly to their
child’s gender. Candles were snuffed out to protect the mothers’ anonymity as
they enter the room. From the bags, came three coloured balls:
White – Child would be checked to see if they were deemed able to survive through medical tests and permitted into the Hospital should they pass.
Red – Re-entered into the ballot should a mother’s child with the white ball fail the medical test.
Black – the mother was immediately escorted off the premises with their child.
Aldus’s Tokens are
enlarged metal representations of the tokens can be found along the Marchmont
Parade:
If you’re popping around to see Tokens, pop around into the Foundling Museum too where you’ll find
the original tokens. Just nearby is Coram’s Fields where they have a peculiar
policy of allowing access to any adult if they have a child with them. You can find concept design, sketches and models of Tokens on John Aldus's website. #Tokens
The Globe Head Ballerina fashioned from the mina of Yinka Shonibare
was installed on the outside of the Royal Opera House facing Russell Street on Tuesday
19 June 2012. It will be there for a duration of 5 years up until Sunday 18
June 2017.
Inspired by photographs of Margot Fonteyn, Shonibare created
a sculpture that was modelled on the ballerina soloist Melissa Hamilton. The
figure is encased in a snow globe as it rotates slowly inside it reminiscent of
a musical jewellery box.
The tutu is made with fabrics that have become a signature
of Shonibare’s work, choosing colours adopted from the African identity, which
I find is of a peculiar mix. Especially given the African dance styles are a
lot different to the styles of a ballerina.
“This piece is about bringing the
childhood sense of magic and wonder to the façade of the Royal Opera House in a
very grown up piece of public sculpture that can be enjoyed by all. It’s like a
life-size fairytale ballerina jewellery box that will spin” – Yinka Shonibare
Alien Sex Club was held at Ambika P3 of University of
Westminster between 24 July to 14 August 2015. It is a joint collaboration
between artist John Walter and HIV researcher and specialist Dr Alison Rodger. Walter
shaped and crafted the visuals of the research provided by Dr Rodger on the
subject, creating a Cruise Maze,
which is most commonly found in sex clubs and gay saunas. The works combines
the HIV with art through many varied interactions in exploring the way the
subject is addressed. This exhibition contains adult themes.
Hats for Marrows
are a series of sculptures satirising condom fatigue. The mini hats were
knitted by the Walter’s mother and affixed on top of the Styrofoam marrows. It
is intended to be cradled in your arms as you make your way around the
exhibition.
Pill Burden are a
series of pictures reflecting on the decrease on the need of antiretroviral
therapy since the 1990s. At one point, patients had to take up to 40 pills a
day in comparison to today where patients only need to take 1 pill a day to
manage their HIV treatment.
The Inflatable Head
is a take on Walter’s pug virus and
becomes a theme in some of his works across the exhibition in drawings to 3D
prints.
Juliberry’s Grave is
a series of coffins that remember people of cultural significance that have
died of AIDS. It is a way to help send the lost cultural information when they
died into “cultural consciousness”.
Rapid HIV testing carried out by Terrence Higgins Trust are
done in a blue shed that resembles a semi-virus. It’s quick and easy to do with
the results shown directly after getting a spot sample of blood.
Tarot readings are done daily with mine done by the lovely
Sue who took the form of Barbara Truvada. She delves into the depths of the
past, present and future exploring the self, obstacles and how they entwine. My
reading was down to the T with a lot of thought and afterthought to figure it
out. Enlarged version of the tarot cards can be found in the maze.
The Intestinal Corridor contains images of city maps,
viruses, pills, symbols and other images, providing a transcendental experience
into the maze.
The Capsid Club contains structures of HIV capsids, which
are the protein shells of viruses.
Video Booth shows
two characters in their respected screens (Goat Guy and Bummy Pete) speaking in
garbled speech as a way of looking at the slang terms used when cruising for
sex. The design reflects the US adult bookstores in which pornographic films
can be simultaneously watched while sex acts are done through glory holes in
booths.
Shrinkies are a
series of miniature drawings that were shrunk using special materials. A
larger-scaled version can be found displayed elsewhere in the maze.
The Big Book, which sadly could not be flipped through, showed
paintings presented as the Alien Sex Club bible, which contained 49 pages on
double-paged spreads.
Two sets of drawings are displayed in the maze which dal
with the language of HIV and architecture, while the second deals with the different
presets that are performed to attain this architecture.
Three videos shown in the maze deals with different sides of
sex and how they relate to HIV. The three videos are Strategic Positioning, Crystal
Dick and Courtship Disorder,
which can be viewed below.
It was overall a different experience which was fun and enjoyable with different windows of offerings to interact with and think about. I went on two occasions which included the last day of the exhibition and managed to see the artist in very colourful clothing without realising that he was John Walters. Only after when a staff said he was there on the day but he had already left when the revelation was revealed. Alien Sex Club will be coming to Liverpool later in the year
as part of the Homotopia festival.
