Erotic Art Exhibition
NOTE: The following article contains explicit sexual imagery and plenty of innuendo. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
Come on, admit it. You’re curious and wanna see what’s on the walls, but either a bit too nervous or simply not able to step inside. That’s exactly why I asked for a press pass, because as soon as I’d learned about the Erotic Art Exhibition I knew I wouldn’t be the only one wondering whether it would be full of things you could legitimately consider artistic, or filled with overpriced examples of barely concealed porn. As with most things related to sex and sexuality, the answer will vary widely based on your outlook and taste.
The opening rooms (2+3) are a bit of a litmus test. As soon as you enter you’ll be standing between S&M contortionists in rubber fetish attire hanging just across from a wall of works that look like they’ve been painted from paused porno. The largest are ornately framed oil paintings, giving them a livery hall portrait appearance that’s incongruous with their content. Wander a little farther and you’ll encounter a salon hang of boudoir scenes and French Maid outfits, a series of small coffins covered by naked vampiresses and some colourful but casually drawn body positivity. In terms of content, artistic quality and even price the opening range of work spans a very wide spectrum. As someone once said to me: start as you mean to go on.
Before I explain the rest, it’s worth pointing out that there’s barely any work in the exhibition that doesn’t contain some kind of explicit nudity. After two decades of the internet and mainstream marketing pornification of anything and everything, full frontal is the new soft core. Keep that in mind as I describe photography heavy Rooms 5 & 6 as filled with “tasteful nudes”. Think Mapplethorpe or Ritts if they had been working for Larry Flynt. There’s a lot of beautifully composed, well-lit black & white, which is why the ones that caught my eye were colourful, silly and very unsubtle. A peeled back banana dripping with cream. Dandelions growing out of orifices.
It would have been incredibly easy to fill the Bargehouse with three floors of erotic photography but thankfully they haven’t. I went hoping I’d see artist interpretations of sexuality other than soft focus shadows to hide the cellulite, and Room 7 is where the foreplay gives way to some truly interesting takes. There’s silly-sexual stoneware from Andrea Gomis (@DeadRatLove69). Ceramic vases and tiles covered in vulvas by Rupert Parkinson. Abbie Harris (@AbbieHarrisArt) has cast some eager-to-please pink fingered hands. Plus there’s a variety of tables with all sorts of oddly shaped objects. I saw more than a few visitors carefully considering just where they might fit.
Two doors down you’ll find Shibari-themed Room 9. Here the Japanese art of rope bondage using visually intricate patterns is celebrated by a wide range of style and medium. Two that stood out were the small Victorian style papercuts by Nizlyn (@nizlyn_artist) and the chalk and charcoal drawings from Henry Howe (@howeoriginalart) that are so lifelike I did a triple take to confirm they weren’t actually photos. Upstairs, Room 10 is filled with “pop art porn” ranging from watercolours to digital cartoons to a Sarah Lucas tribute life-cast sculpture.
If you’ve seen porn — and let’s be honest, the puritanical aren’t going to be attending this show — then you’ll likely agree that this is a perfectly appropriate art fair when it comes to the word ‘erotic’. There’s nudity, humour and yes, even some hardcore but the overall attempt isn’t to be outright pornographic even though most of the works are ones you’d certainly take off the wall before your parents come round to visit. For those eager to take something home besides their arousal, the majority are priced well under £500.
In addition to the art there are three full days of workshops and events ranging from normal and neon life drawing classes (£15), a hair fetish workshop (£12.50) and plenty of free talks and demos on topics like Body Painting, Transgressive Art and Censorship. There’s also a small bar and food stall alongside a mini-market where you can purchase kinky jewellery, kinky coffee mugs and kinky clothes. On Friday and Saturday there’s evening entertainment from 7-11pm.
Despite opening on the hottest day of the year I walked away feeling a lot less sticky and icky that I had feared. The attendees and exhibitors were all incredibly friendly and the entire affair had a very chilled out vibe. Although the quality of some art was noticeably lower than you’d see at most mainstream art fairs, the vast majority proved that artistry and eroticism aren’t mutually exclusive. Whether or not you buy, the £14 entry at the door is more than fair value given everything that’s on offer. If you go, let me know what you think. Maybe I’ll see you there when it returns next year?
Plan your visit
‘Erotic Art Exhibtion’ runs 07 - 10 September.
Tickets from £13.50 (advance) or £14 at the door
Located at Bargehouse, OXO Tower Wharf, London, SE1 9PH
Visit londoneroticartexhibition.co.uk and follow @eroticartexhibition on Instagram for more info and to buy tickets.
PLUS…
Check the What’s On page so you don’t miss any other great shows closing soon.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter. (It’s FREE!)