Artists make use of Fulham Town Hall to create new exhibition

It’s easy to walk past Fulham Town Hall and think nothing of it – after all, the Grade II listed building has stood empty for more than a decade.

But over the last six months artists have been busy inside creating Art in the Age of Now, an immersive exhibition featuring sculpture, street art and installations.

Curator Ben Moore, founder of Art Below, said: “This is a completely different experience to any other art exhibition that you’ll go to because the artists have been immersed in the space, working.

“When you go into what you think is just a normal room, you’re transported into another world, into another installation. It’s an immersive experience, and that’s very difficult to come by.”

The result is an impressive collection of modern pieces, working with rather than against the grand architectural features of the building.

Each section of the exhibition reflects the original use of the room, with Mr Moore’s recreation of Stonehenge at the centre in the great hall.

Mr Moore said: “The Stonehenge signifies a communal hub of the building. Stonehenge is, I believe, very much about community, and so it sets a precedent for the rest.”

The building also contains a number of cells in the basement, which have been taken over by street artists such as Angry Dan, Ben Eine, Lucy Flynn, Jack and Dotmasters.

A modern take on the crucifixion is on show in the old courtroom, hanging above the wooden pews.

Mr Moore said: “In that courtroom there’s been so much judgement, prosecution and persecution laid out and the ultimate judgement that’s ever been laid out is the crucifixion.”

Joe Rush, whose sculptures have helped shape Glastonbury down the years, has transformed the ballroom with sculptures recycled from salvaged material including F15 bombers and Soviet tanks.

Charlotte Colbert’s Mastectomy Mameria is also on display.

The sculpture shows a mass of breasts that on closer inspection reveals some nipples are missing, sewn up as after a mastectomy.

Since the birth of her children, and own personal experience of hospital maternity units, Charlotte’s creative output has reflected her sense of life postpartum.

While the lockdown has been hard for many artists, it has given Mr Moore the freedom to curate without pressure to bring in big names or paying galleries.

It also gave many of the artists involved time to get fully involved in the project. Mr Moore said: “Lockdown has been a destruction of many artists. Many have turned to alcoholism or whatever else, but other artists have got really stuck into their craft and thrived in the isolation of it.

“It’s really good to see in these rooms artists who have started creating miracles as a result of the opportunity of being isolated. They are standing up to the challenge and using it as an opportunity to create and explore.”

Art in the Age of Now is at Fulham Town Hall from May 20.

Main Pic: Stonehenge