The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureArt

Estuary at Museum of London Docklands

Estuary at Museum of London Docklands | Exhibition review
18 May 2013
Hannah Wallace
Avatar
Hannah Wallace
18 May 2013

Estuary explores how the Thames river has been represented artistically through an eclectic compilation of photography, film and painting. Seeking a narrative beyond the realms of postcard-London (the Thames is after all the second largest river in Britain, a gateway from Western England to the East and to the North Sea), the show explores an almost legendary river whose identity, though heavily altered in the modern age, remains steeped in reverence and intrigue.

Painting is the least featured medium in the exhibition, but painter Jock McFadyen’s works stand out as an expression of the show’s voice as a whole. Focusing on East London, McFadyen paints eerie and desolate places, which, though coloured in English greys, feel unfamiliar – foreign and removed. This sensation of melancholy features throughout Estuary, with the connection between the modern era and the Thames’s slow withdrawal from its heyday glory articulated in many pieces.

Actual dialogue and historical reference in pieces such as William Raban’s Thames Film and Nikolaj Bendix Skyum Larsen’s Portrait of a River help to unravel this overriding sense of history versus contemporary; the dialogue of characters past and present is used to analyse the Thames’s ongoing transition through time as a transport link, a landmark and a specimen of nature.

The actual design and build of the show itself plays a vital part in its ability to engross the viewer. Architecture and design studio Urban Salon have created in the small space a “landscape”, which encourages exploration of the exhibition without regimentation. The discrete but beautifully designed floating light-boxes are in keeping with both the show and the ambience of the museum building (a Georgian era warehouse). Distinct contrast between the light and dark spaces creates a nautical depth and gives it a misty, ethereal feel. Museum of London has done well to put thought into this aspect of Estuary, and has not only overcome the complications that arise with a listed building, but sets a strong example of experiential exhibition design.

The miscellany of works in this show ensures that there is a balanced and comprehensive exploration of an open subject, from which everyone will find something that speaks to them. It is a reminder of the changing face of this country’s infrastructure, its natural landscape, and an insight into the Thames’s own resultant shifting importance. Estuary is a reawakening of our fascination with one of Britain’s great rivers.

★★★★★

Hannah Wallace

Estuary is at the Museum of London Docklands until 27th October 2013. For further information visit the museum’s website here.

Dagenham © Jock McFadyen
Purfleet from Draculas Garden © Jock McFadyen Tate Britain
Thames film © William Raban
Neighbour © Stephen Turner
Southend Pier 2011 © Simon Roberts courtesy Flowers Gallery
Thames Painting © The Estate of Michael Andrews James Hyman Gallery Pallant House Chichester
Related Itemsreview

More in Art

Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic at the British Museum

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Cornelia Parker at Tate Britain

★★★★★
James White
Read More

Our Time on Earth at the Barbican

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms at Tate Modern

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

Walter Sickert at Tate Britain

★★★★★
Sophia Moss
Read More

Dopamine Land

★★★★★
Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Sony World Photography Awards

★★★★★
Sophia Moss
Read More

Raphael at the National Gallery

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

Inspiring Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts at the Wallace Collection

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Alice Cooper at the O2 Arena
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Decision to Leave (Heojil Kyolshim)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • The Innocent (L’Innocent)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Stephen Fry enters the Radio Times Hall of Fame in conversation with Alan Yentob at the BFI Imax
    Cinema & Tv
  • Roma Bar Show returns for a second edition in Rome next week
    Food & Drinks
  • “It was a really precious process”: An interview with Maksym Nakonechnyi on Butterfly Vision
    Cannes
  • Stranger Things: Season Four
    ★★★★★
    netflix
  • Henry VIII at Shakespeare’s Globe
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Stars at Noon
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Nostalgia
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Nostalgia
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Fiend in Notting Hill: “Risks that pay off”
    Food & Drinks
  • Alice Cooper at the O2 Arena
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Michael Kiwanuka at Alexandra Palace
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Innocent (L’Innocent)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Alt-J at the O2 Academy Brixton | Live review
Christopher Williams at David Zwirner Gallery | Exhibition review