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3/4/2003

Spacemen

Motinternational, London

Imagine the scene; every week three artists meet up in various old man boozers dotted around Bethnal Green. They're waiting to sign the lease on the most miserably damp rat infested railway arch this side of the city, but they just don't care, They have a vision and they call it MOT and while they wait, they drink and while they drink they talk about art. Slowly the weeks slip by in much the same way, when suddenly, out of the blue another property comes to the attention of our three heroes, five floors up in an old GLC work unit with to die for views. Suddenly MOT erupts onto the face of the art world.

MOT is one year old and to celebrate we decided to take a look at the artists behind such ventures as our own. We thought long and hard about whom to include and then went out into the wilderness to spread the word. While in the field we honed our curatorial project into a lean mean fighting machine of a show. What was it that made small groups of artists get together and show other artists while at the same time managing their own practice? What was their work like and did it relate to what they chose to show in their own space? Some artists didn't make work any more and some spaces were about to close but finally we came up with a small group of artist run galleries that fitted all our criteria and in some way mirrored what we were trying to do. In the interests of community MOT opened its doors and in a celebration of a genre that has produced many of the world's leading artists and created the most inventive curation MOT brings you London's latest breed of spacemen.

Five Years is the oldest of the spaces whose founders we wish to include and the only group temporarily without a space. They were finally evicted from their premises on Underwood St last year. It was founded in July 1998 by Alex Schady, Marc Hulson, Edward Dorrian and Dennise Hawrysio. Although one of the criteria for spacemen was to include artists who were running a gallery at the moment we felt that as Five Years were actively seeking a new property that their operation had not ceased and that it was still valid to include them.

Keith Talent opened in March 2002, only one month before MOT. As it was so close to us in age and location it was the first space that we approached. The two artists behind Keith Talent are Simon Pittuck and Andrew Clarkin. After inviting them to participate they started making paintings together and have chosen to show one of these pieces as Keith Talent.

The Jeffrey Charles Gallery was established by artist's Kev Rice and Dave Smith in the summer of 2001. The gallery is focused on a program of experimental exhibitions, designed to put disparate art works together, to interact both physically and cognitively.

1 000 000 mph is a new project space in Bethnal Green run by Kate Grieve and Dallas Seitz. Their intention for 1 000 000 mph is to provide opportunity for selected artists and curators to take up residence, concluding in an exhibition of the (work) developed in the space during residency.

Hoxton Distillery is co-ordinated by John Hanson and Richard Paul. and has been located above the Macbeth Public House since February 2001. Although it is not the only gallery above a pub in London, this space is respected by artists for its independence from the commercial market.

In 2001 Richard Priestley and Milika Muritu founded Cell Project Space within a wing of a lunatic asylum of a disused mental hospital in Tysen Street. They later moved to larger premises, a disused zip factory in Arcola Street, Hackney. Cell is an independent project space with a commitment to providing space for new works and curatorial practice.

There are obviously many more artist run spaces in London, the UK and even the world but MOT is just too small to encompass the whole picture, instead we wanted to provide a snapshot of a specific location which has acted as a magnet for artists and galleries, catch that moment and show some of the people that are responsible for creating the magnetic field.

So feel the force as the MOT tractor beam locks onto you and remember that in space no one can hear you scream. This is the final frontier, so boldly go and seek the Spacemen.

Private view Thursday 3rd April 6 pm - 9pm

Open Fri, Sat, Sun 12-5 or by appointment

Bethnal Green Underground Bus 394,106,253,26,48,55,D6, D3, 8

MOT
Unit 54/5th floor Regents Studios
8 Andrews Road London E8 4QN
t +44 (0)7931 305 104

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