EAST END PROMISE – A STORY ABOUT CULTURAL MIGRANTS 1985/2000

OCTOBER 9/24, 2010

East End promise curated by Ernesto Leal and Paul Sakoilsky, at LondonNewcastle Project Space, Redchurch Street Shoreditch, London 2010

The show charted the activities of the ‘cultural migrants’ who came to the East End from all over the UK and abroad, moving into derelict spaces and filling the vacuum left by previous migrants. Unlike preceding post-war youth and cultural movements, which had mainly been based on consumption, these individuals – from a range of social and economic backgrounds – took advantage of the cheap rents to create a culture based on ideas and the processes involved in bringing them to fruition.

To reflect the vibrancy and immediacy of the DIY ethos of the time and place East End Promise celebrated, an accompanying catalogue was compiled and sent to press in the first week of the exhibition, and launched on the last Thursday.

Artists’ works (selection) BANK (‘VIPER/BANK TV’ from the 1996 video show of 130 artists); Gavin Turk (‘tip’ – bronze painted sculpture of bin bag – and early works and archive reworked specifically for the show); Darren Coffield (artwork and personal ‘Factual Nonsense’ archive); Anthony Oliver with Andrew Herman (‘Dogs Must Be Carried’, 35 mm slide installation of over 300 portraits, at 30 Underwood St Gallery, 1996); Adam Dant (‘The Donald Parsnips News Stand’, 1997); Stewart Home (‘Red London Video Promo’); Swifty (Large scale Installation from the famous designer); Simon Bill; Cedric Christie; Sean Dawson; Cathy de Monchaux; Lucy Wood; Geraldine Swayne (‘East End’ – the first ever Super 8 to Imax film – a documentary short about Spitalfields, past and present, including Nick Cave, Ian Sinclair, Gallon Drunk, Nick Cave, Bill Drummond, among others); and many more.

Photographs, Video & Archive: Bonnie Venture (the ultimate Shoreditch portraits or 90’s and Liam Duke, unseen documentary photos of East London Strip bars from the early 90’s); Giles Moberly; Diego Ferrari’s panoramas; Dafyyd Jones; photographic archive of important East End show throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s of Peter Lewis (Artist/Curator and editor of /seconds journal); Chris Shaw (never before shown Shoreditch Portraits 1996/7, from the photographer behind, ‘My Life as a Night Porter’); Normski (Photographs of the legendary Metalheadz Sunday Session Club Nights at the Blue Note from back in the day, Bjork and Giles Deacon on the dancefloor, etc), and more.

Archive Material: Containing photos and video of just about EVERYONE – the great, the good, the beautiful, the bad and the ugly – from the East End art and cultural scene 1985-2000. Including Tracy Emin, Gilbert and George, Bob and Roberta Smith, Tim Noble and Sue Webster, Damien Hirst, Angus Fairhurst, Commercial Gallery, Matt Collishaw, Jarvis Cocker, Fee Doran aka Mrs Jones, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Carl Friedman, Sarah Lucas, Nitsch show at 30 Underwood St Gallery in 1997, Max Wigram, Gary Hume, Rachel Whiteread, Maureen Paley, and more.

Artists and contributors included: Chris Allen • Arthrob/Tomato* • Atlas Press • Howie B • Tim Bailey • Keith Ball • BANK • Paul Barkshire • Bass Clef/Blue Note* • Simon Bill • Andreas Bleckmann • Andrew Capstick • Darren Coffield • Joshua Compston/Factual Nonsense* • Commercial Gallery* • Commerical Too* • Michael Yee-Chong • Cedric Christie • Adam Dant • Sean Dawson • Lucy Day • Decima Gallery* • Dragon Bar* • The Ditch Magazine* • Liam Duke • Alison Dunn • Don Eales • Ben Eine • Everything Magazine* • Gordan Faulds • Diego Ferrari • Five Years Gallery* • Grant Fleming • Roslyn Gaunt • Matthew Glamorre* • Alexander Guy • C.A. Halpin • Mark Hammond • Falk Hindes •Stewart Home • Marc Hulson • The Indo •Dick Jewell • Daffyd Jones • Mark Jones • Fee Doran aka Mrs Jones • Peter Lewis •Lo Recordings* • James Lynch* • Kate Kotcheff • Marco • Phil Maxwell & Hazuan Hashim• Steve Micalef • Jamie McDonald • Sean McLusky & Martin Tickner* • Giles Moberly •Matt Mitchell • Yuki Miyake • MTJ* • Mute Magazine* • Hermann Nitsch • Normski • Anthony Oliver • Jamie Robinson • Imogen O’Rorke • Pav • Esther Planas • Danny Pockets • Brendan Quick • Kirsten Reynolds • Jason Royce • Paul Sakoilsky • Chris Shaw • Swifty • Geraldine Swayne • Duncan Telford • Suzanne Treister •Chris Tupper • Gavin Turk • 30 Underwood St Gallery* • Nick Waplington • Simon Wheatley • Winston Whitter • Lucy Wood • Bonnie Venture • Mole Vessey • Wai Hung Young • PYMCA/Sleaze Nation* •