SPACE

03 May - 23 June 2007

Caroline Christie and Bobby Lloyd 

Painted Deserts is an exhibition which responded to two controversial sites in East London: the London Olympic area of the Lower Lea Valley, and the ‘MOMART’ art warehouse at Leyton, involving a 3,500 sq ft sandpit in the shape of the Olympic Site in the courtyard and a photographic installation.

Using large scale photographic images of the Olympic area as its backdrop, a 3,500 sq ft sandpit in the shape of the East London Olympic site will fill the outdoor courtyard. Through the use of containers the public will be invited to create their own landscape, repeatedly flattening and reconstructing imagined stadia and other buildings. This resonates with images of the destroyed art warehouse and the clearing, demolition and rebuilding of that site projected within the internal gallery space.

Caroline Christie and Bobby Lloyd began working together out of a shared curiosity in changeable territories in East London that connected with their independent experiences of working within other unpredictable urban environments outside of the UK. Their work builds on their respective art practices in which they have used photography over a number of years. In 2004 they established On Site Arts as a formal collaboration through which they explore the crossover between different models of photographic practice and the way in which artists can traverse a range of settings and agendas. On Site Arts also offers photographic workshops to communities, such as those due to be displaced from the Olympic area.

During the course of the exhibition the artists ran regular events building sandcastles in the courtyard every Saturday.
Sand castle building on Saturdays

On June 23 2007, SPACE and the Museum of London hosted a symposium for artists making work in response to the Olympics. This symposium has resulted in the Olympic Artists network which meets quarterly at SPACE showcasing artists projects and providing a meeting place for discussion and exchange.