A visit to Frieze London.

Between the 13th and 17th of October, right in the heart of The Regent's Park, Frieze London opened its doors for lovers of contemporary art. Founded by Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover in 2003, the art fair focuses solely on contemporary art and living artists, hosting the who is who of curators in the "the Jewel in the crown." SNS London headed west for an insightful day full of eye-catching pieces and stunning exhibitions to celebrate the must-visit innovative space.

Words by Nia Muhammad, photos by Bryan Aseya.

Since the reintroduction back into society post lockdown I, like many others found myself quickly tiring from day-to-day interactions and social past times. The parties don’t quite party anymore and Food isn’t quite fooding. So, I was ecstatic at the thought of experiencing something breath takingly fresh. I had no idea what to expect. The location of the fair is most definitely ironic and very fitting, as we discovered many “jewels”. I remember walking in and saying, “this is huge”. What I was seeing was a showcase of over 160 of the most significant galleries from around the world. The exhibiting galleries represent some of the most exciting artists working today, from the emerging to the iconic. I was taken a back all the different mediums of art.

I was taken a back all the different mediums of art. There were interesting and intricate sculptures, like Lindsey Mendick’s collection of ceramic vases, that used muted blue, green, purple and brownish tones with a super shiny finish, whose wounded sides spurt octopus’ arms.

I came across a Hand-drawn Indian Ink piece called “I wasn’t weeping- I was crying like I was insane” (2021) by renowned British artist Tracey Emin, which was on a Lithographic background (a method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a flat stone or metal plate with a smooth surface on which the image areas are worked using a greasy substance so that the ink will adhere to them, while the non-image areas are made ink- repellent). Tracey’s work is so expressive, she tackles the fundamental themes of love, desire, loss and grief and dealing with personal experiences and heightened states of emotion.

What I love about Art is the various forms in which it comes, and how they all interlink. One artist who is familiar with not only having is work exhibited in a gallery or fair would be American Contemporary Artist George Condo. The piece I saw of his was titled “Of Mice and Men” (2008) which was originally a novella written by John Steinbeck, which I think nearly every British English student has studied. I won’t spoil the plot for those who are not familiar with it, but this acrylic, charcoal, pastel and sand on paper piece literally depicts a being with a face made up of a mice and a man. I think it’s safe to say however, we are all are familiar with a mister Kanye West. For his 2010 album “My beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”, Ye enlisted Condo to create 5 paintings and the cover art for the album. A collaboration that is still a topic of conversation today, 11 years later.

One of my favourite pieces that at I saw at Frieze, cost £100,000 and was 1 of 10 in the UK. Can you guess what it is? It was none other than LGs signature made to order rollable LG OLED R 65-inch 4K TV, it has an OLED screen, a Dolby Atmos and Sound Pro sound system and both Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa for built-in voice control. I have never seen a design like this before. It was truly where tech meets art. This mortgage for a flat, was displayed in a whole section by itself covered in sheer red curtains that you could weave in and out of, it sat upon a red carpet, and on its screen, was a Moiré like pattern of yellow butterflies. It had to be the work of the UKs very own multi-talented contemporary artist, art collector, and entrepreneur; Damien Hirst. In fact, the whole section was displayed with Hirsts work. Damien Hirst is a British contemporary artist whose work examines the complex relationships between art and beauty, religion and science, and life and death. For Hirst, butterflies symbolize death and resurrection. The British artist debuted this motif when he was 26 years old, with his ambitious installation “In and Out of Love” (1991). Hirst like Condo is no stranger to having his work displayed not only in galleries and exhibitions. Hirst created the cover for Drakes highly anticipated new album, “Certified Lover boy”, which features 12 “pregnant woman” emojis with various skin tone and shirt colours, that mimic’s the nature of Hirsts iconographic spot paintings.

There were so many other pieces that I saw, that captured my eye. I loved the use of different materials that some artists used, like crystals and rocks and metals in Kathleen Ryan’s astounding sculpture “Bad Fruit (The Siren), 2021. Which was composed of 44 different materials. But I won’t ramble on. Instead, I encourage everyone reading this, to go out and explore an exhibition like this one. It was really a lovely cultural day out, with inside and outside features. Although Frieze London doesn’t take place again until October 2022, it is important for us to look at creativity in all aspects of our lives. Self-expression; whatever that may look like for you, and being able to look at things through your own lens and seeing things through somebody else’s, without having to say a word, speaks volumes.