Anyone who’s found themselves stuck at the traffic lights at the bottom of Lewes Road this month can’t fail to have noticed the Phoenix Gallery. As part of their current exhibition ‘Critical Mass’, which runs until the end of this week, artist Jim Sanders has painted a seven-metre-high picture of a man with a bird on his head, which now graces the front of the building. It would be enough to stop the traffic if the lights weren’t already there.
The exhibition has been on since September 8th, but this weekend the gallery held their annual ‘Open Phoenix’ event, giving visitors the chance to explore the hundred or so studios which comprise the Phoenix Arts Association. The place is like an office block for artists, and you can easily spend hours climbing the stairs and wandering the endless corridors, poking your head into room after room and watching the artists at work. Although if you do it on any other weekend of the year, you're liable to be arrested for trespass.
The ‘Critical Mass’ exhibition comprises two collections, the first being Jim Sanders’ landscape of ‘totemic figures’: eight-foot pieces of wood to which have been nailed numerous items of junk. Or as the guide so eloquently puts it, "found materials". That includes thousands of bottle tops, can tops, sardine tins, animal bones, rusty chisels, a jelly mould and a sachet of vinegar. Not to mention some items which only ever get thrown away, such as empty cigarette packets and a leaflet from the Jehovah's Witnesses. The results are surprisingly attractive, and if it wasn’t for the price tag of £2,000 a piece, I’d happily have one in my living room.
The same goes for the artwork in the other half of the exhibition. Artist Martin Symons has created a series of ten-foot-wide pictures, each featuring hundreds of people and objects from popular culture, and all drawn entirely in felt tip. It's enough to make a six-year-old froth at the mouth. I have to say, I loved these. There's something surprisingly entertaining about staring at a felt tip pen mural for ten minutes and spotting Ainsley Harriott, Darth Vader and Mr Potato Head. I spent a good half hour trying to work out the connection between the hundreds of items in each picture, before finally accepting that if Bagpuss is nestled between a kettle, a Cabbage Patch Kid and a picture of Theseus slaying the Minotaur, then that's just the way it is.
Among the other events taking place as part of ‘Open Phoenix’ were free creative workshops, artist talks and a two-day video art festival featuring more than twenty short films. These included 'Breakfast', a three-minute exploration of how to make toast with power tools, and 'Deep Fried Vitamin', in which the artists persuaded the owner of a kebab shop in Birmingham to batter a vitamin for them. Personally I preferred 'Stone', a two-minute short by Roz Cran, who likes to dress up as a rabbit and interview pigs.
It was all quite enjoyable, although naturally I didn't understand a word of it. I did, however, like the little café they'd set up on the first floor. I was just outside the door at 3:30pm when there was an almighty crash as one of their trestle tables collapsed under the weight of a victoria sponge, sending cake across the floor in every direction. I thought at first it was some kind of audio-visual art installation, and was tempted to start taking photos, but judging by the looks I received, I think perhaps it was no more than a tragic accident. I knew it was a mistake to start clapping.
