The Extricate Blog Spot

Wednesday, 23 September 2020

4 Works from the John Lennon Is Not Dead show at The Stash Gallery

John Lennon Is Not Dead is an exhibition taking place at The Stash Gallery inside Vout-O-Reenee's. The exhibition features contributions from 80 esteemed artists who have either made a new work or unearthed something special to celebrate the 80th anniversary of John Lennon's birth. Four of the artists said a few words about what they're contributing...

Above: Emma Coleman: Here’s John Lennon visiting David Bowie and Iggy Pop when they lived in Berlin in the ‘70’s. Their apartment probably didn’t really look like this but I like to think of them on the sofa talking about music and shooting the breeze. Iggy Pop apparently ate all of David Bowie’s food so eventually David Bowie asked Iggy POP to move out and he did - to the apartment next door with his girlfriend. I don’t know when he uttered it - probably a bit later on than this scenario but John Lennon said “Glam Rock is just rock n’ roll with lipstick”. It’s nice to think of an ethereal genius creature like David Bowie eating food, shopping for food, maybe browsing the posh department store KaDeWe and hosting a Beatle. The poster behind them is of a nightclub they liked - it was Berlin’s answer to Studio 54. In the apartment they used to watch a children’s TV programme with a presenter called Uncle Floyd."

Above: Raksha Patel: "Cosmic Guru is based on the time the Beatles spent with Maharishi in Rishikesh. The painting is from a photograph

of Lennon playing the flute by the River Ganges. The image particularly struck me because it reminded me of paintings

I've seen of Krishna playing the flute, the pose is exactly the same and the landscape with the tree very similar. I'm sure

that the Beatles would be aware of this well known image and whether Lennon was imitating the pose, nevertheless its

beautiful and peaceful. The hippy flowers are from a 70's poster of Maharishi and reference all those magical states of

mind through meditation as well as taking LSD."

Above: Chris Tosic: "Give Peace a Chance was a great tune with a very earthy production, full of mayhem and chaos but somehow it all glued together. The message was very clear, everybody needs to come together to make something like Peace happen. For me, that's what Lennon was about. I don't know whether he was good or a bad man, but he understood conflict is a lose / lose position. Badge of Peace is just a simple sign that I hope carries that gesture."

Above: Duglas T. Stewart: "I remember George Martin saying the story of The Beatles was one of the greatest twentieth century love stories and he meant the love story of John and Paul. I wanted to do a picture inspired by and about their love. It changed the world and had such an incredible legacy. So I wanted to celebrate that.

A memory I have is being at Bellshill station on the morning the news of John's death broke and two old guys were talking

"I hear that Jack Lemmon has been shot"

"Oh no, the one from The Odd Couple?"

"No, the one from The Beatles"

"What was the other one called again?"

"McCartney?"

"No, Walter Matthau. It'll be hard for him". I thought John might have appreciated the absurd humour of this conversation."

John Lennon’s Not Dead will feature; drawings, paintings, photography, and collage. There will also be some specially made music and animation and some surprise performances. Because of social distancing there will be 4 Fab gatherings (some of which will be filmed and then shared on You Tube) rather than one big opening party. The Stash Gallery is inside Vout-O-Reenee's, The Crypt, 30 Prescot St, E1 8BB. Please note this celebration of John Winston Ono Lennon is unauthorized and 100 % unofficial. Vout-O-Reenee's is a private members club and pre booking is essential. http://vout-o-reenees.com/events/john-lennon-is-not-dead-hes-80/ Buy your tickets: HERE

The show opens on Friday 2nd Oct and closes on Wednesday 28th Oct. Vout-O-Reene's is open Tues -Sat 5pm till Late.

Four More from the John Lennon Is Not Dead exhibition

Above: John Moore (artist, musician, writer. Former member of The Jesus & Mary Chain and Black Box Recorder) says that his work is called, "Fun, fun, fun on the Reeperbahn” and adds: "my contribution to the show is a tribute to the beautiful, anarchic black leather days in Hamburg, where John Lennon once played with a toilet seat around his neck. This was my favourite period of The Beatles. By the time they were smiling on TV, they had already done the bad stuff...as every rock and roll band should!”

Marguerite Horner (artist and winner of the British Women Artist Award 2018 and MS Amlin Prize 2017 ) states that her practice is concerned with notions of ‘transience, intimacy, loss and hope’ and says of her contribution to the show ‘Ol’ Brown Eyes’: “I was thinking about what we leave behind when we are gone, and how part of our DNA fuses with part of someone else’s DNA at conception to become a separate human being with its own unique DNA - a zygote- so although Lennon had two boys with different mothers, his brown eyes were passed on to them both and they also looked very like him at a certain age. The title ‘Ol’ Brown eyes’ refers to another singer - Frank Sinatra, who was sometimes known as ‘Ol’ Blue Eyes’.”

Kirsty Buchanan:"I wanted to capture the luxuriant, splendor of the Hilton hotel bed that they were sleeping in. I couldn’t stop thinking about how comfortable their clothes and the sheets look in the film."

(Above: Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds by

John Turnbull and Sandra Turnbull:

John Turnbull: "I was writing down what John (Lennon) said that night at the Speakeasy.”Can ya help me find me glasses” he was scrabbling around under our table and scratched me on the knee and said that, so I got down and helped him look , then a girl from his table said "Got them " he looked up and said Thanks mate. End of story. So normal and down to earth if a little bit tipsy, as we all were at 2am in the morning."

Sandra Turnbull: "My pal John Turnbull taught me music saves your life. Lucy, Love you , call me .. his words in our collab paint the picture. John Lennon couldn't save his own life , but he saved mine."

The show opens on Friday 2nd Oct and closes on Wednesday 28th Oct. Vout-O-Reene's is open Tues -Sat 5pm till Late.

Sunday, 20 September 2020

John Lennon is Not Dead Exhibition - Quotes from Four Artists

Sadie Hennessy (multi-disciplinary artist): John Lennon Metronome

"This small assemblage is about the fragility of life, with the metronome providing a heartbeat, and a countdown to death . In John Lennon's case, this was a famously premature death, at the hands of a murderous fan, who shot him in the back after seeking his autograph, earlier in the day. My work often tends to be iconoclastic, but in this instance, it is quite reverential, with the ivory casing of the metronome calling to mind a classical funeral obelisk. The metronome symbolizes Lennon's musical career too and calls to mind the white piano he played in the Imagine video."

Bonnie Wong: "'Imagine there's no heaven, no countries, no religion...' John Lennon's Utopian vision seems impossible to be achieved. A world without divisions, borders, ownership, conflicts, greed does sound more and more like dream. This map is created to commemorate John Lennon's optimism, and his effort to make that "dream a reality.

Clare Price: "My photo was made in homage to John and Yoko. The title (Yes) references the story of when John and Yoko met when he climbed up the ladder to see the yes in her artwork."

Ben Dickinson: "My work is called Lemon and Yolko, the wordplay title relates to the banter The Beatles famously used to enhance their fame during early interviews... The pair are painted as religious icons, as Jesus and Mary Magdalene..."

The show opens on Friday 2nd Oct and closes on Wednesday 28th Oct. Vout-O-Reene's is open Tues -Sat 5pm till Late.

Tuesday, 15 September 2020

Four Artists from the John Lennon's Not Dead exhibition at The Stash Gallery

Twinkle Troughton: “My paintings encompass reality and myth, and often feature houses. Houses contain stories, both stories which are true and stories we imagine in our minds. My painting of John Lennon's house, known as Mendips, holds many stories about him, including significant moments in his life and career. He lived there with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George after his parents divorced. He wrote Please Please Me in his bedroom there. His mum, Julia, was tragically killed in a road accident outside this house. The house still has the same creaky floorboards which led to John's bedroom, which he knew how to avoid when sneaking out at night. It was Yoko Ono who asked for these floorboards to stay as they were, after donating the house to the National Trust”.

Natasha Vassiliou: “He hated the dark. He gave Yoko flowers. When I hear him speak I feel the peace and the love. He gives me hope. Hope at a difficult and uncertain time. He inspires me to believe again. Inspires me to use colour. Inspires me to dream again.”

Nat Foreman: “We actually don’t want war to be over, we still want possessions, jealous guys don’t apologise, we don’t give peace a chance, and all we really need is love. This is why John Lennon is not dead.”

Loretta Wall: “All we are saying.......is give peace a chance. Sitting down one afternoon with my grandma at the age of 13 I popped a cassette version of "give peace a chance" on by John Lennon.....she LOVED it! both the sentiment and the song. We sang along to it together,the best we could.....several times! Happy days, thank you John. XXX”

The show opens on Friday 2nd Oct and closes on Wednesday 28th Oct. Vout-O-Reene's is open Tues -Sat 5pm till Late.

Monday, 14 September 2020

Four more artists discuss John Lennon

Mikey Georgeson; "Bed Peace, (acrylic on wood panel.) I grew up in a house where John Lennon was revered and woke up on my 13th birthday to hear he had been shot. John & Yoko were an amazing creative couple. Riding the crest of the wave they infused the world with creative acts and sewed seeds of love. Perhaps the radical and dynamic nature of how they put art in life will be realized more fully one day."

Julie Bennett:"The first John Lennon record I owned was 'The Ballad of John and Yoko' which was bought for me by a life-long friend who is a massive fan. As this record was The Beatles' last number one, I wanted to paint Lennon at the other end of his career before he was famous. My practice examines the role of celebrity so, with Lennon I wanted to consider whether the younger man had a sense of destiny about him, was he always going to be famous? I also wanted to think about the sense of artistic freedom he had before he became so iconic and subsequently, every action was scrutinized by the media which as the ballad implies he felt were out to get him." Christ you know it ain’t easy, You know how hard it can be,The way things are going, They’re going to crucify me.

Jasper Joffe: "Lenon (sic) is on linen. On one edge, it says give peace a chance. On the other, revolution by any means necessary."

Hugh Mendes: "My work is called, '20 years ago today'. This painting was made during my MA and was the first time I incorporated a newspaper clipping into a still life painting. It was a memorial as well as a Still Life/Vanitas piece. It led directly to my working with Obituaries, which became an ongoing project and one I am still working with 20 years later. This is the first time it has been shown publicly. "

The show opens on Friday 2nd Oct and closes on Wednesday 28th Oct. Vout-O-Reene's is open Tues -Sat 5pm till Late.

Thursday, 10 September 2020

Another Fab Four Artists talk about John Lennon

Magda Archer: “The Beatles playing on the roof was one of the coolest things ever. Other bands have tried to do it since but they don’t come close. I like the fact John Lennon loved cats. And I love the footage of him with a fan who just turns up at his house in Surrey. And my Dad had the book, A Spaniard in the Works. I remember thinking, “Oh, he draws TOO.”

Kevin Eldon:'I've always been fascinated at how Lennon morphed into different people every couple of years throughout the sixties: slicked back rocker, black clad existentialist, cuddly mop top, bespectacled poet and, as in my scribble, the hairy peace activist artist. All of them had one common element - COOL.'

James Lawson: “My painting is based on the positioning of the 9’s from the New York Times Sudoku from October 9^th 2019, John Lennon’s 79^th Birthday.”

Tony Husband: “...stood on the spot in New York where he was shot. You wouldn’t have known. I asked where was John shot? Doorman said, You’re standing on it... felt a chill. RIP John and thank you for so much.”

The show opens on Friday 2nd Oct and closes on Wednesday 28th Oct. Vout-O-Reene's is open Tues -Sat 5pm till Late.

Thursday, 3 September 2020

Four More Fab Artists Discuss John Lennon

Louise Camrass: “John Lennon expresses what is so difficult. I’m so empty, I’m wracked, all the stuffing has been taken out of me, I’m raw, I feel like a nothing, I’ve blown it, I hate that I need you, I hate that I am jealous, I hate that I hurt. I want to be out of this. ‘I was dreaming of the past and my heart was beating fast – I began to lose control, I began to lose control, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I’m sorry that I made you cry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I’m just a jealous guy.’ Humanity is all there and I love that.”

Peter Lloyd: “My digital print is titled, The Daily Howl by Not the John’s. After achieving and enjoying super stardom, John grew tired and began to crave anonymity. In a bid to regain some normality he adopted a number of pseudonyms that allowed him to check into hotels, jam and record with friends and cause trouble without having to be a Beatle. This image is a portrait of John and his influences told through a 4 piece band called Not the John’s (first album, The Daily Howl). Each member of the band is one of John’s many aliases. From left to right we have the Reverend Fred Ghurkin (seated), Johnny Rhythm, Fred Zimmerman, and the indomitable Dr. Winston O’Boogie.”

Edward Ward: “My drawing is called, Isn't it Good? I have no idea what I was trying to achieve.The woman in it is Maureen Cleave, who is one of an oft-speculated two people that Norwegian Wood may have been written about though she denies it.”

Sarah Doyle: “My painting is called Cat Kiss John Lennon. John Lennon was a cat lover since his childhood, growing up with 3 cats, he would cycle to the fishmongers each day to pick up fish scraps for his beloved pets. My painting is from a lovely photo of him with his cat affectionately bopping noses together, something cats will only do with trusted friends. I think this is probably one of the ten cats he owned when he was with his wife Cynthia."

The show opens on Friday 2nd Oct and closes on Wednesday 28th Oct. Vout-O-Reene's is open Tues -Sat 5pm till Late.