Cherry

On a recent trip back to my home town of Derby I stumbled across an artist’s retrospective in the rather newfangled and (of course) publicly opposed QUAD gallery. This center for the arts has been the source of much skepticism withinin local circles as the town folk trudge between market and guildhall on a rainy Thursday in search of a very sweet and milky brew from Uncle Tom’s Cabin – that’s what my nan does anyhow!

Nevertheless I was very happy to find the main exhibition hall dedicated to the life and work of Ian Breakwell. I can confess I regrettably had no idea who this was when popping my head through the door and in hindsight probably should have been more aware. Hailing from the fine suburb of Long Eaton, Breakwell is truly a local lad that went on to achieve notable recognition for his ability to see the extraordinary in the very ordinary. His multi-media approach saw him work across film, television, sound, illustration and collage to build a unique outlook on the fabric of life around him. His diary pieces and rigorous observation of those intricacies others simply do not see led to him having his idiosyncratic journal “Ian Breakwell’s Diary” published by Pluto Press in 1986. This went onto be adapted for Channel 4 and would pave the way for further television work in the following decades.

“The Diaries record the side events of daily life: by turns mundane, curious, bleak, erotic, tender, vicious, cunning, stupid, ambiguous, absurd, as observed by a personal witness.”- Ian Breakwell

In 2004 Breakwell was diagnosed with cancer and responded with renewed levels of creativity unblinkingly documenting his condition. This would turn out to be his final set of entries and in 2005 Breakwell lost his battle. All that remains to be said is that this internationally acclaimed artist and storyteller is truly a local boy done good!

To see a collection of pieces from his full diaries visit Ian Breakwell: The diary reinvented.

Wafting through the dark entrance to Decode, into the glowing electro-cornfield of Daan Roosegaarde’s ‘Dune’, there’s a palpable sense of excitement from the anticipating masses. A feeling that we are leaving the everyday behind in the V&A foyer and entering into a colourful glimpse of the future.

So having been to the future, what’s it like? Well, people seem to laugh a lot. Adults become children and throw virtual paint at videowalls, blow virtual dandelion parachutes around the room with hairdryers and watch virtual trees swaying in time to the wind outside. In other words, it’s a bit of a laugh.

Decode brings together innovations in coding, networks and interactivity, and on the serious side, the power of networks and the influence of user-generate content is in evidence here. But a digital clock, where the ever-changing numbers are photographic contributions from the public, is as deep as it gets.

The visually inspiring Code section of the exhibition, showing off code as a design tool, includes Radiohead’s touchy-feely ‘House of Cards’ video by James Frost and Aaron Koblin.

The interactive section is where the real fun starts. Ross Phillips’ ‘Videogrid’ encourages every extrovert to make a one second contributuion to an ever-changing video wall of looped moments.

Mark and Phillipa become part of the exhibition

Throw your hands in the air!

Mehmet Akten’s ‘Body Paint’ had us jumping, waving and throwing shapes in front of a wall responding with bursts of colour to every movement. An interactive Sony Bravia ad just waiting to be ripped from the V&A and installed on every bus shelter in the country!

The exhibits on display here aren’t changing the world. But they are maybe changing the way we look at the world. And raising a smile along the way.