Art exhibition show: 'Pile 'o' Shite' by Andy Link Aka47

Recently I visited the latest solo show by the conceptual artist Andy Link, also known as AK47. This show is being held in the Graffic Gallery in Portobello Road, and is due to run for two weeks, from 7-9pm every evening until 17th February.

Conceptual Art is less about the artistry of the works themselves, and more about the back story evoked by them. In this sense, Andy has produced some well conceived pieces that are intended to mirror some of the themes of his own life. The thread that connects each piece is the juxtaposition of a heart shaped mirror, that ubiquitous symbol of love, with a single word, taken from the language of the street and spelled out in bullets. Some of the pieces are adorned by neon tubes, emitting a soft pink glow, which gives a theatricality to counter the brutality evoked by the bullets. Other pieces are not directly lit, but their mirrored backgrounds reflect the light of the room, which then casts a distorted heart onto the floor, and now the bullets on the installation show up, not as bullets, but as a row of shadow birds singing on a telephone line. As with all Conceptual Art, the viewer should make of this what he or she will, but the effect is brilliant.

The central piece of the exhibition is a piece entitled Pile of Shite, or P.O.S. This in effect, is an original toilet bowl rescued from Holloway Prison, and set with a hand made plastic cistern. This is a piece that would stand comfortably in a gallery, and give viewers the chance to contemplate the many bums of the prison fraternity that would have sat upon it, each in contemplation themselves. And thus provides a mirror to our own lives, and the prisoner that each of us is, within our own paradigm.

‘Linksy’ is a man that did not boast of his own possessions or achievements, he spoke with frankness but always with sincerity. The love was shared………and it was felt by everyone, what a welcoming human being.

His grandee appearance in his bold purple suit totally matched his personality. We had a lovely evening, reporting for London Mums Magazine by Ranjeet Panesar, William Pawson & Danny Boy.