Gillian Wearing’s new exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery is a hit with visitors.
The retrospective show, which runs until 17 June, explores the difference between our public and private personas, and features a collection of the artist’s photography and films.
Wearing rose to fame in the 1990s as part of the famous group of Young British Artists that included Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin. She won the celebrated Turner Prize in 1997, and remains a star of the art world.
Michael, 21, a volunteer at the gallery, said the show has attracted a lot of visitors. “It’s been the most popular exhibition in my time here,” he said. “It has obviously struck a chord with people and the word has spread because more and more people are coming to see it.”
In a diary for the Evening Standard, Wearing described her intention for the exhibition to feel like being “backstage at a film set”. She wrote: “I’ve always been fascinated by the differences between our public personas and private lives and wanted the show to articulate that using hidden cinemas and confessional booths.”
The first room contains a cinema screen, enclosed by high wooden panels, which shows an interview with a local East End woman. A television, hanging from the ceiling, plays a video of the artist dancing in public.
The next two areas are dominated by Wearing’s photography, including her well-known 1992 series, entitled “Signs that say what you want them to say, and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say.” In these images, members of the public hold up a whiteboard that they have written messages on, revealing their thoughts and fears.
The exhibition finishes with three “confessional booths”, each of which plays a different film. The videos show people, hidden behind prosthetic masks, talking about their past demons. In one, a man discusses the abuse he suffered as a child, and how it led to him being imprisoned for a violent assault.
Sammy Pink, 24, an amateur artist who works in a vintage clothes shop in Spitalfields, was impressed by the exhibition. She said: “The content was really moving and emotional, especially the confessions at the end. But as an aspiring artist myself, I was just really inspired by the work. I’d heard of Wearing before but I’d never seen her work so I’m glad I went.”
Rodolpho, 22, is a trainee architect from Mexico who lives in Kensington. He said: “It’s nice to see something a bit different to paintings and sculptures. I found it very thought-provoking and the whole setup created a special atmosphere. It almost felt like you were spying on people, like a fly on the wall. It was very good.”
For more information on the show, and upcoming exhibitions at Whitechapel Gallery, please visit the website whitechapelgallery.org.
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