New bad-art-for-bad-people style solo show of the Chapman brothers, titled "Jake or Dinos Chapman", is on display in London till September 17th. It runs simultaneously @ Hoxton Square and Mason's Yard - the 2 locations of the White Cube gallery.
The "or" in the title is not a typo, but refers to the concept of the show, for which the otherwise inseparable brothers and partners-in-crime decided for the first time to work individually. The exhibited works are however presented without author's attribution, leaving the viewer guessing whether he might be facing a genuine Jake or genuine Dinos.
And to be honest, it'd be difficult guessing. The variety and media of the artworks is vast, yet all pieces bear the characteristic signature of the artists' duo: absurd, disturbing, in-your-face and created with great sense of craftsmanship.
Unfortunately the gallery has a strict no-photo policy during the exhibition and photos we could find online all mostly depict the same (= the art-admiring nazi mannequins & the kids with animal masks pictured above), but apart from these striking pieces, there are countess other gems to be be found on both locations.
So if you go, don't miss the "Somewhere between tennis elbow and wanker's cramp" cardboard sculptures, the sets of mysterious drawings and etchings with equally mysterious titles and "Oi Pieter, I k-k-kan see you house from here", an installation combining (adjusted) 17th century painting and a Chapman-made one hell-of-a-confused identity mannequin (K-K-K cape, hippie socks and a huge hard-on...) or the cabinet of religious violence @ the first floor of Hoxton square.
Seeing the show alone was already worth a trip to London, but adding Tracy Emin @ the Hayward Gallery & Matthew Day Jackson @ Houser & Wirth to the list made our short stay even better!
(Emin & Jackson are unfortunately already finished but some photos will be on Flickr soon)