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28/1/2003

Simon Starling

South London Gallery SLG, London

Djungel

For his solo exhibition at the South London Gallery, British artist Simon Starling will transform the main gallery space with his installation 'Djungel' and will also show a new work in the SLG's project space.

Starling is fascinated by the ways in which objects come into existence and by the processes involved in transforming one object or substance into another. He makes us look at things with fresh eyes by drawing us into his own, very particular take on the processes by which objects come into existence, discovering unlikely relationships between seemingly disparate objects. Starling's work involves meticulous research, and tracking down source material for what he calls his 'experiments' has taken him as far afield as Surinam, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, southern Spain, Romania, Poland and, for the work in his South London Gallery show, to Trinidad.

'Blue, Red, Green, Yellow, Djungel 2002' (djungel is Swedish for the word jungle), takes as its subject the process of transition from a West Indian cedar tree, felled in New Grant in Trinidad on 22 March 2002, to a huge curtain, spanning the entire width of the gallery, which has been hand-block printed by the artist with a botanical furnishing print. Designed in the 1920s by Josef Frank, who spent most of his working career in Sweden, the print design was based on jungle imagery found in children's books rather than first-hand experience as Frank had never visited the tropics. Starling's curtain provides a more direct connection with the original source of Frank's design, the jungle, by using a Trinidadian tree to make the wood blocks with which the curtain is printed. The finished work brings together the curtain and evidence of the processes involved in its making: the artist's improvised printing table, a fabric printer, pots of ink, wood blocks and the huge West Indian cedar tree, including its vast root ball, cut into sections from which the printing blocks were cut.

In the project space, Starling will be showing a new work, commissioned by SLG, which again takes as its theme the notion of ingenuity and the multiple uses that simple tools can be adapted to perform. By bringing together a chainsaw and a bicycle he creates a unique home-made, motorised bike.

Simon Starling lives and works in Glasgow and Berlin and is gaining increasing national and international recognition. Last year's projects included major solo shows at Dundee Centre for Contemporary Arts, Casey Kaplan 10-6, New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney and Portikus, Frankfurt, and projects in 2001 included solo shows at the Secession in Vienna and at Neugerriemshneider in Berlin.

'Djungel' was originally commissioned by Dundee Contemporary Arts where it was exhibited in June - July 2002.

EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
A fully illustrated book published by Dundee Contemporary Arts will be available at a special exhibition price of £11. It documents Starling's 2002 exhibition at DCA and also includes a discussion of his works from 1998 to the present.

FREE TALKS AT THE SLG
There will be free gallery talks on Thursday 30th January and Thursday 20th February at 6.30pm, and on Saturday 15th March at 3pm.

'IN CONVERSATION' EVENT WITH SIMON STARLING
Simon Starling will be 'in conversation' with Charles Esche (Director, Rooseum Center for Contemporary Art, Malmö and Editor, Afterall Journal, London/Los Angeles) at 7.30pm on Thursday 27 February. To book tickets, priced £5/£2.50 (concessions), please contact the gallery on 020 7703 6120.

FREE FAMILY DAYS OUT TO THE SOUTH LONDON GALLERY AND THE DESIGN MUSEUM
Sunday 23 February 2003
Sunday 9 March 2003
Design history is an important influence in Starling's work and he has used design classics such as Charles Eames' chairs as the medium for his 'experiments' in process and materials. Thanks to the generous support of Bloomberg, sponsors of Djungel, you are invited to take part in an activity-packed family day out to the SLG and The Design Museum on either Sunday 23 February or Sunday 9 March, for free! Starting at 10.30 am at the SLG, children will be able to take part in a special activity while parents enjoy a tour of the exhibition. This will be followed by a coach trip to The Design Museum where children will be able to take part in a special workshop, 'Make a Modern Chair', exploring ideas about form, function, process and manufacture while creating their own miniature design classic.

Places are limited, so tickets must be booked in advance. For full details and to book, please call the gallery on 020 7703 6120.

CHILDREN'S ACTIVITY SHEETS
Younger visitors to the gallery can enjoy working through activities described in a free comic called 'A Djungel Travel Guide', specially designed by Adam Dant, winner of the 2002 Jerwood Prize for Drawing .

SCHOOLS' PROGRAMME
A programme of activities, workshops and events related to the exhibition has been organised for a number of local schools. There will also be an evening viewing of the exhibition for teachers, so please call the gallery if you would like more information about these and future events for schools.

For press information, images or to arrange artist interviews, please contact Richard Thompson at the SLG on 020 7703 6120 or via e-mail at richard@southlondongallery.org

South London Gallery
65 Peckham Road - SE5 8UH
London

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