Description
The gallery moved to Farringdon, but was originally in a quiet pedestrianised street near Euston Station, and called The Aquarium:
- Your first job is to find it. No-one, even one hundred yards away, knows where the tiny street is. If you can find Upper Woburn Place, bang opposite Euston station, Woburn Walk is between two hotels, The Ambassadors in Bloomsbury and The County. Once inside, you may still be unsure you've found it. Unlike most venues, where space is everything, the tiny Aquarium is crammed with art. Stacks of novels and a cardboard box stuffed with rubber-stamp prints like afterthoughts, crowd a plinth. On the walls, woodcuttings jostle oils. Shelves carry poetry, mignon hand-painted hardbacks and seven-inch vinyl, little painted hessian squares and yet more rubber-stampings. It feels more like a grocer's shop than a gallery. I half-expected to be greeted by a stuttering Ronnie Barker. Instead, I was greeted by an enthusiastic young woman. [2]
One of the first exhibitions at the Aquarium was of Concrete Poetry assembled by William English and including numerous pieces by Ian Hamilton Finlay loaned by Andrew Burgin who was one of the partners in the original Woburn Walk bookshop. Andrew was also instrumental in staging a Situationist exhibition at the gallery at which William English presented films by Maurice LeMaitre amongst others. Later exhibition: "Venus with Severed Leg", photographs of Vivienne Westwood taken in 1975 by William English in Sex; the shop on the King's Road owned by Vivienne and Malcolm McLaren. The Aquarium published a box of these pictures in an edition of 100 though only 40 were actually made.
As well as exhibiting work, the gallery was also involved in the production of it in collaboration with the artists. There was a steady output of novels, records, hand- made books, T-shirts, jewellery, limited edition prints, wallpaper, bed linen, internet sites, art multiples and even stamps.
It uses the promotional slogan "Purveyors of the finest and roughest in art and publishing". Part of a Billy Childish show was promoted on the gallery website:
- Part 3: Insolence in the Face of Art - bad painting and refusing to "fulfill his fucking potential"
- "Back in the 1990s when all the Brit Art rebels were sucking up to Saatchi and Thatcher, I decided to remain on the wrong end of the seasaw and paint like a monkey. Thus being brilliant whilst continuing to annoy the big boys" - Billy Childish
- A selection of these great paintings will be exhibited and a limited edition catalogue will be produced as well as a series of prints.
In 2004 Jimmy Cauty installed a gift shop, Blackoff, based on the government's Preparing for Emergencies leaflet. The installation included "terror aware" items, such as "terror tea towels", "attack hankies" and "bunker-buster jigsaw puzzles" (missing one piece). Cautie commented, "The gift shop becomes the place we can explore our branding ideas, Cash for trash — it represents the futility and the glory of it all." [3]
For the 2007 Islington Art Fair, the gallery produced a limited edition print of Jamie Reid's 1977 poster for God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols. It was titled "Never Trust a Punk." [4]
"God Save the Queen" is a song by the British punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released as the band's second single and was later included on their only album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. The song was released during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977.
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years and produced only four singles and one studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, they are regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music.
The gallery's artists include Jamie Reid, Billy Childish, Jimmy Cauty, Sexton Ming, and STOT21stCPlanB. There have also been exhibitions of work by Daniel Johnston, Frank Kozik and Anne Pigalle.
Billy Childish is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing and visual art. He has led and played in bands including the Pop Rivets, Thee Milkshakes, Thee Headcoats, and the Musicians of the British Empire, primarily working in the genres of garage rock, punk and surf and releasing more than 100 albums.
Sexton Ming is a British artist, poet and musician who was a founding member of The Medway Poets (1979) and Stuckism art movement (1999).
Daniel Dale Johnston was an American singer-songwriter and visual artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded alone in his home, and his music was frequently cited for its "pure" and "childlike" qualities.
The Aquarium L-13 was at 63 Farringdon Road, London EC1.
Dispute with the White Stripes
In March 2006 an argument took place in the press between Billy Childish and US musician Jack White of The White Stripes. Childish criticised White in the US GQ magazine, "They don't have a good sound ... Jack's half into the sound and music, but then he wants to be a pop star as well, so you've got a big problem." White responded on the Stripes' website, accusing Childish of plagiarism and of being "the bitter garage rocker." Childish then wrote an open letter to the NME saying White was jealous because he had "a bigger collection of hats, a better moustache ... and a fully developed sense of humour." [5]
The Aquarium Gallery produced a spoof boxing poster advertising Jack "whingy" White v Billy "bitter" Childish, which was offered for sale on eBay. Lawyers acting for the White Stripes complained to eBay, claiming the poster violated their intellectual property rights, and eBay removed it from sale. According to news reports, lawyers have contacted the gallery. White's spokesperson said, ""This particular poster was a bootleg and that is why it was removed from sale." Lowe commented, ""It was just a bit of fun but these people don't seem to have a sense of humour. I did the poster to entertain Billy and our customers really, but then we go and get this letter. I've written to the White Stripes' management to see exactly what copyright we're infringing." Steve Lowe of the Aquarium also said "a lot of what was reported in the press is inaccurate. We're not an Eastend Gallery and we're not being sued. The White Stripes had the poster removed from eBay, that is all. Anyone can do that." [6] Since then the Aquarium sold all the edition of 10 posters on eBay raising £1100 that is being split between both Billy Childish and Jack White. The money is being converted into gold and put in pots for the two pugilists to collect. There is also a cheap edition that can be bought from the gallery's web-site.
Stuckism is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting as opposed to conceptual art. By May 2017 the initial group of 13 British artists had expanded to 236 groups in 52 countries.
K Foundation Burn a Million Quid was a performance art action on 23 August 1994 in which the K Foundation burned cash in the amount of one million pounds sterling in a disused boathouse on the Ardfin Estate on the Scottish island of Jura. The money represented the bulk of the K Foundation's funds, earned by Drummond and Cauty as The KLF, one of the United Kingdom's most successful pop groups of the early 1990s.
Blacksmoke a.k.a. The Blacksmoke Organisation are "an occasional art collective and musical group dedicated to the propagation of audio visual noise". The precise creative membership of Blacksmoke is a closely guarded secret. It is documented that a founding member is The KLF co-founder Jimmy Cauty. Heavy metal musician James Fogarty has also been extensively responsible for their musical output. Keir has been described as their "project manager". K Foundation collaborator Gimpo who is organiser of the annual "M25 SPIN" was the inspiration for an early Blacksmoke track "Gimpo Gimpo" but, contrary to reports, has never provided any vocals. Cauty left the organisation in 2005 to work on other projects. Blacksmoke output currently includes music, artwork and video material.
The K Foundation was an art foundation set up by Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty in 1993, following their 'retirement' from the music industry. The Foundation served as an artistic outlet for the duo's post-retirement KLF income. Between 1993 and 1995, they spent this money in a number of ways, including on a series of Situationist-inspired press adverts and extravagant subversions in the art world, focusing in particular on the Turner Prize. Most notoriously, when their plans to use banknotes as part of a work of art fell through, they burned a million pounds in cash.
Carl Freedman is the founder of Carl Freedman Gallery. He previously worked as a writer and a curator.
Mark D, born Mark Randall, is a British punk musician. He is also associated with the Stuckist group of artists. Mark D was born and spent his childhood in Peterborough. He now lives in Nottingham.
The New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition was a world's fair held in Dunedin, New Zealand from 17 November 1925 until 1 May 1926, which celebrated that country and the South Seas. It was the third such exhibition held in Dunedin, with earlier exhibitions in 1865 and 1889. The exhibition had over 3 million visitors.
Aluminium is the name of a music project based upon an orchestral reworking of the music of the band The White Stripes. Its members are Richard Russell and Joby Talbot. Jack White, of the White Stripes, has endorsed the project.
Matthew Higgs is an English artist, curator, writer and publisher. His contribution to UK contemporary art has included the creation of Imprint 93, a series of artists’ editions featuring the work of artists such as Martin Creed and Jeremy Deller. During the 1990s he promoted artists outside the Young British Artists mainstream of the period.
Filip Filkovic is a Croatian born music video film director, graphic designer, artist and musician.
Athena is a British art retailer and retail chain, which was founded in 1964. Today it sells fine art prints from a variety of UK artists. However it is best known for its iconic posters such as L'Enfant, The Lord Of The Rings from 1976 by Jimmy Cauty, the Tennis Girl poster from 1976 and "Beyond City Limits," published in the 1990s. The company's popular success divided opinion amongst intellectuals and art critics who were uncertain as to whether these works were too vulgar and populist to be considered art.
Gerrion Jones a.k.a. Wacky is a Welsh art collector. He is best known for his curation of the Punk Forever exhibition which features artwork by Billy Childish, Jamie Reid and Jimmy Cauty.
Under Great White Northern Lights is a 2009 documentary film about The White Stripes' summer 2007 tour across Canada directed by Emmett Malloy. It contains live concert and off-stage footage. The film's accompanying album is a collection of various recordings from throughout the tour. The documentary was released on DVD and Blu-ray, and the album was released on CD as well as 180-gram vinyl LP. A special edition box set was also available. The CD, LP, DVD, BD, and box set were all released on March 16, 2010 in Canada, with other dates worldwide.
L-13 Light Industrial Workshop is a contemporary art space that opened in May 2009 in Clerkenwell, London. Operated by Steve Lowe, it is a revised incarnation of his previous galleries and small presses, ‘the aquarium’ and The Aquarium L-13, and works with a small group of artists known for their unorthodox stances, in developing, exhibiting and publishing their work.
For ABS-CBN's TV show, see E-Boy.
Wendy Murray is a visual artist and arts educator formerly known as Mini Graff. Utilising the former persona, Murray worked as an urban street poster artist between 2003-2010. From 2014 Murray's art expanded into traditional forms of drawing and artist book design, whilst still engaging with social and political issues through poster making. The artist's use of letraset transfers in graphic design, alongside vibrant colours and fluorescent inks, references the work of studios from the 1960s through to the 1980s, including the community-based Earthworks Poster Collective and Redback Graphix. The 2018 collaboration with The Urban Crew - a 17 person collective of socially engaged geographers, planners, political scientists and sociologists - resulted in the Sydney - We Need to Talk! artist book, addressing issues of development, transport congestion, housing affordability and commercialisation of public space.
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