The second set of commissions due to inherit the Culture Quarter’s spaces including the Culture Wall, the Storefront, and the Billboard, will launch on Friday 9 December, culminating in the grand switch on of lead artist, Mark Titchner’s ‘Beacon’ on the gable-end wall of The Hat Factory Arts Centre.
Running from 9 December, the artists’ work will be on display for three months, whilst Mark Titchner’s Beacon will illuminate The Hat Factory Arts Centre for the next three years.
Launching alongside Mark Titchner’s ‘Beacon’:
‘Expect Even Better’ by Jennifer West
Promoting diversity through text, typography, literacy, script, languages, translations, street speak, dialects and mottos, the Culture Wall will see Los Angeles-based artist Jennifer West’s experimental films. At a time when analogue film has become largely obsolete, Jennifer works with old film stock and uses everyday household materials—including hot water, bleach, vanilla, coffee, vinegar, nail polish and more – to paint and erode the film emulsion and create coloured splotches, patterns, and chance effects. When digitized and re-screened her deconstructive films have the most surprising and beautiful visual effects.
‘Sixth Floor’ by Sarah Baker
With artworks previously comprising magazines, posters, and performance, Sarah Baker will occupy the Storefront with her fictional fashion label, producing luxurious commodities; the Storefront will be transformed into ‘Sixth Floor’ – a lavish perfume shop with Harrods’ namesake. Baker’s series of conceptual perfumes, named ‘Greek Keys’, ‘Leopard’, ‘Lace’, and ‘Tartan’ – suitably reflected in the bottle design, are hand-crafted by Ashley Eden Kessler and each of the four exciting new fragrances evoke a different fantasy experience: while one will take you on a yacht ride in the Greek Islands, another will recall a blazing open fire in a Highland’s pub.
‘Any Dream Will Do’ by Polly Apfelbaum
Polly Apfelbaum’s ‘Any Dream Will Do’ – a series of stunning poster works produced exclusively for Luton – will be the first commission to display on the billboard positioned outside Luton railway station. Typical of the artist’s concern for a balance between the two mediums of painting and installation, this project has a profound engagement with colour and drawing in the public realm.
