Brixton is a hugely diverse area with a vast range of cultures and attractions. What is most striking about Brixton is its independence; it feels like a community that needn't rely on any external resources. There is everything here you might need should you live here, from walk-in clinics to a choice of roughly 7 different fish stalls, Brixton even has its own currency, the Brixton Pound.
When we were asked to 'Choose an object from a market stall or second-hand shop or found object from the area you are exploring' I knew I had lots to choose from. After having looked around all the obvious places such as the market and the various charity shops, I went to the library in order to try to find out a little bit about the history of Brixton. They had a book sale on there in which I bought 'The Sexually Responsive Woman' by Drs. Phyllis and Eberhard Kronhausen. It cost 20p and was fittingly random to find amongst tatty old comics and failed thrillers to choose for this theory task. First off I suppose I should point out that it is made of paper. The paper is very yellowed with age, however, and the spine is bent and the cover has a fold in it and is quite dog-eared. Along the spine, for the purpose of finding it in the library, it has a sticker reading 'Sex Kro 410', which I personally think sounds quite sordid for some reason! There is a quote on the front cover from Simone de Beauvoir, 'Absorbing and Fascinating'. Other words I feel you would affiliate with the book are pioneering, shocking, informative, exciting, well-used, annotated, worn and taboo. This book has clearly been well used as there are sections of it annotated with whole paragraphs I presume were of importance to the mystery annotator having been highlighted. Another strange quirk of the book is a stamp inside the cover reading 'MEMORIAL DONATION, GIORA DORON'; of this I can only assume it came from a collection of books donated by Ms Doron once she died and that she possibly is our mystery annotator. It was printed by Ballantyne Books, New York, in November 1965.
Within the context of the area this object fits strangely. Everyone seems generally offish, in so much as it is very difficult approaching these strangers as they seem mistrusting and more often than not too busy. It is hard to imagine any of these characters reading such an explicit book and quite amusing in many ways to think of any of the people I met going so far as to annotate it. I enjoy that it has been given this very personal edge and it was an interesting surprise on further examination.
The second object I am going to write about is some Paper Doilies I bought in a pound shop for 49p. In the pound shop there is a disproportionate amount of space dedicated to doilies and other party 'essentials'. On the packaging they are advertised as 'Smarter disposables fir throwing parties'. They are very thin, very delicate things, thinner than some leaves or even petals. They have a surprisingly intricate and beautiful pattern around the edge that looks like a kind of Chinese woodcut. They are white, with holes cut out most probably from laser cutting and also they have some form of embossing to give detail to the flower design.
Within the context of Brixton these doilies are very average and commonplace. They are disposable, which is a word I would immediately associate with Brixton. There is an enormous amount of Fast Food outlets in the town centre and everywhere you look is excessive amounts of packaging. There's several bins and yet there's still rubbish overflowing in some of them and people have clearly just resorted to chucking their rubbish on the floor. Even in the restaurants its paper disposable table cloths. Moreover, the packaging says they're perfect 'for throwing parties' and all over Brixton there's flyers for club nights and events. There's also an eclectic range of music drifting from somewhere on every street corner.
I come across a pop-up gallery in Brixton Village Market which is exhibiting 'Consciousness Field' by Maria Lopez. I found this perfect largely due to its pop-up nature for an artwork for me to write about. It is an interactive installation made up of hundreds of pompoms that represent the neurons of the human brain. Words that came to mind were colourful, open, intimate, unique, tucked-away and scattered. The piece is interactive in the way that it is reliant on the visitors' personal views on what consciousness means. With the pens provided you are invited to write your own definition on one of the brain shaped cards that make up the wallpaper. There is a whole wall of peoples' views and it is interesting to see how some views are based on faith whereas as just as many are based on freedom, love and even drug-use; 'Acid reveals the truth' seems to be in quite a prominent position. If this artwork was shown in a different position I can't help but think it wouldn't be as successful because half of its charm is how its just in an empty shop. People are also more inclined to take part and get involved by writing on the cards provided in this location because it seems so intimate and welcoming.
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