Written by Alastair Owen
June 11, 2018
On the night of Saturday 7 July, Art Night will transform the Thames riverbank by putting art into iconic and extraordinary locations. And the Flower Market is one of those places.
Unmissable is overused. But I think this is something worth its meaning. On Saturday 7 July, we’re taking part in London’s largest free contemporary arts festival, Art Night.
For one night, a trail from Southbank Centre to Battersea Power Station will host 12 special art projects from internationally renowned artists, curated by the Hayward Gallery. One of those projects will be here in the Flower Market where the space will become a unique stage for a spectacular performance.
Tamara Henderson | Durational Performance
Canadian-born artist Tamara Henderson will be taking over the Flower Hall from 6:00pm – 4:00am on the Saturday night, creating a newly commissioned durational performance piece called Vision 3: Flower Transition (2018).
"Henderson’s performance replaces the trading activity of wholesalers and buyers with a cast of eight characters. Their slow procession through the corridors of the shuttered market is a choreography that evolves according to an inverted, nighttime clock.
"Constructed from materials found at the Flower Market, each character is conceived as a sculpture for the body to be inhabited and articulated; its voice amplified. The characters derive from aspects of the life-cycle of the plants and flowers, from their origins in seeds to the elemental sources of light, earth and water, incorporating symbology and language as well as the frenetic activity of the florist." - Art Night
Tamara Henderson (b. 1982, Canada)
Tamara Henderson features in the performance too, playing the character of the 'eye'. Operating a Bolex camera, she'll be recording and playing witness to the night's activity.
Art Night Open
Alongside the main programme sits Art Night Open. Over 50 cultural institutions and local venues will be activating the trail with contemporary art - ranging from immersive multimedia installations and interactive experiences to screenings, performances and experimental music. All following the curatorial themes of ‘home’ and ‘urban landscape’.
Anna Skladmann | Installation
At the market, Anna Skladmann will be creating an installation for the front of the Flower Market building. Her work will explore notions of nature and society, cultivation and the machine, using specimens sourced from the market.
Anna Skladmann 'The Blushing Bride', 2017 from the series 'The Ghost In The Machine'
Özge Topçu | Installation
Inspired by the marketplace, Özge Topçu is creating new designs withe the local community for the future of social space using one of the key components of the market place – the crate. Join the workshops in the run up to Art Night and come along to see the finished installation, Agora, during the night on the Flower Market Upper Car Park.
Özge Topçu, Agora
Georgina Hill | Sound Installation
Listen to Georgina Hill's sound installation on the Flower Market Upper Car Park. Titled HAMMER & ANVIL: STEMS, Georgina Hill partially rebuilds the old 1970s Flower Market and its ecosystem using three-dimensional recordings and eyewitness accounts. The work conveys the changing nature of the area, with its many embedded architectural and personal histories.
Georgina Hill, HAMMER & ANVIL: STEMS
How to get involved
Art Night is free and all you need to do is simply turn up. Tamara Henderson’s durational performance runs at the Flower Market from 6:00pm – 4:00am on the Saturday night. Come along at anytime.
For the full programme and details about Art Night, head to their website here.
It promises to be a very special night and we’d love for you to come along and be a part of it.
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