Journeymen
David Blandy and Antti Laitinen
18th February Preview 6-9pm
19th February -26th March 2011
Gallery Open Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 5pm
Airspace Gallery is pleased to present Journeymen, an exhibition that brings the works of David Blandy and Antti Laitinen together for the first time.
In a cursory sense David Blandy and Antti Laitinen could be described as Journey-men, in that their work is derived from types of quest, endeavour and travel. The correct meaning of the word journeymen actually describes a certain kind of tradesmen and references the training required to master certain skills. This term, dating back to Middle English, is very appropriate for these two particular artists. For Blandy, his interest in characters such as Grasshopper (from the television series Kung Fu), the Crossroads legend of the Mississippi Delta Blues and the mastery of levels in the computer game Street Fighter, indicate that a sense of training has a central role in his work. In Laitinen’s works, that pit him against natural elements or materials, the activities could easily be characterised as quests, or tests, in which he sets out to achieve difficult and very palpable tasks. It is as if the attempt were a way into a new enlightenment, akin to initiation rituals, these acts seem to fulfil a mastery or personal journey into achievement.
