City Matters 164

CITYMATTERS.LONDON April 17 - May 21 2024 | Page 9
subscribe to our newsletter at citymatters.london
ARTS & CULTURE
ANDREW PIERRE HART
BIO-DATA FLOWS AND OTHER RHYTHMS - A LOCAL STORY
BETHAN Putnam interviews
Andrew Pierre Hart
on his new exhibition,
Bio-Data Flows and Other
Rhythms – A Local Story. The
exhibition runs until 7 July
2024 at Whitechapel Gallery.
Tell us a bit about the exhibition.
‘Bio-Data Flows and Other Rhythms –
A Local Story’ is a multi-layered show
that explores ideas and experiences
whilst in the Whitechapel area. Drawing
on a conversation with a local restaurant
worker most of the ideas were generated
from this conversation. Painting, mural,
sculpture and video and sound all work
together to create an installation. The
show thinks through information and
stats and reconfigures them into an
installation that speaks of the process of
thinking that is the show – an example
of this in the painting Bio-Data Flows
– Tower Hamlets Ward. The painting
utilises population statistics, flags and
the map of Whitechapel as the structure
and abstracted visual for the painting.
Why did you choose
Whitechapel as the focus of the
exhibition?
As I stepped out of the station to meet
the director Gilane Tawadros to discuss
the show, the initial rhythm and tempo
of Whitechapel High St, with its big city
skyscrapers, modernist architecture and
local feel, instantly inspired me as my
research sparked by the conversation, the
histories began to unfold and when learning
that Whitechapel was the 1st place a lot of
travelling, sea-faring and emigrated people
lived, worked and built lives. This was the
first place people of Caribbean and African
heritage would have lived in the UK.
Please could you walk us through
the process of creating the
soundscape that accompanies the
visual artwork?
The soundscape/soundtrack from the film
is an exploration of sound and my particular
interest in experimental sound and
recording practices. From the sound of the
train that runs through the underbelly of
Whitechapel Gallery to the quiet noise of
streets at night, the soundscape attempts to
take you through a journey of sounds and
rhythms that spill out as I move around
Whitechapel. I have also composed electronic
rhythmic works to create the intensity
of the hustle and bustle as well as a nod to
alternative music scenes that have been
part of a wider music culture that took
over, like the graffiti in the streets of the
surrounding area. Acoustic instruments,
sax by blue cloud and a clarinet solo by
Shabaka offer meditative times and odes to
London streets.
What would you like for visitors to
take away from the exhibition?
I had a recent conversation around the
structure of language and the way it guides
our thinking and the way we engage. It’s
more about what the viewers bring also.
The show is now open for a week and to
brilliant moments. 1) Two small families
were sat together on the ground, drawing
the mural peacefully, enjoying the time
together. 2) Three generations of a family
were sitting watching the film. These
moments that people bring to the work are
important to me and also to the ethos of
the gallery. I want people to know that
they are welcome to explore their local
gallery.
Did you have a favourite part of
the process when creating the
exhibition?
Researching Whitechapel through lived
experience of walking, taking, hanging out,
late night walks to explore the different
tempos, light and architecture, this was very
valuable; having time to explore but also to
have a wide-range of research tools and
putting those at play – the ears, eyes and
memory as data-capture interests me
particularly as I teach. The making of the
mural was a meditative time spent with two
other artists/students Sondliwe and Afoditi
– three days of Jazz fm, eating together,
conversation and focus time on drawing
the ebbs and flows between quiet, conversation,
laughing and supporting was and
is as much the art for the viewer as the art
for us.
What challenges have you faced
while creating the exhibition, and
how did you overcome them?
Time was of the essence – good scheduling,
timetabling and organisation from
us all helped to actually have a smooth and
well-timed install. I travelled a bit last
year for shows all organised before I was
commissioned, I had to work around and
with that, the video was produced and the
texts written whilst abroad, this all had to be
factored in – in a way travelling at the same
time as working on the show, I consider
still part of the show, you can see this in
clips that show a wider relation to the work
– visual connections in Barbados, Taiwan,
Lagos and Italy.
Which other artists inspire you?
I have a staple of artists who never
put a foot wrong with the work they do and
even when they shift it’s just me having to
catch up and I find this particularly with
one of my favourites Chris Ofili and the list
starts there:
• Hurvin Anderson
• Kerry James Marshall
• Alvaro Barrington
• Peter Doig
• Frank Bowling
• Oscar Murillo
• Simeon Barclay
• Jennifer Packer
• Sonia Boyce
• Barbara Walker
• Torkwase Dyson
• Alma Thomas
• Helen Frankenthaler
• Larry Achiampong
• Christian Marclay
What’s in the pipeline for the rest
of 2024?
I will be in a group show at Lisson
Gallery and Gallery 1957, both in London.
Also in talks with a couple of potential
shows.
A podcast coming with San Clemente
with Grace Bailey – it’s a very warm conversation
on all sorts of topics – think a good
conversation of tea or coffee (although I
drink neither).
An interview with Francesca Gavin on
NTS radio at the end of March.
And finally, alongside the screening
event at Whitechapel, there will be a durational
sound event at least six hours where
Remer Cier and I will explore sound that
relates to the area and more.