{"id":13618,"date":"2016-12-08T18:01:24","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T18:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevoiceoflondon.co.uk\/?p=13618"},"modified":"2016-12-08T18:01:24","modified_gmt":"2016-12-08T18:01:24","slug":"overheard-in-shoreditch-we-eavesdrop-on-hipsters-milling-about-the-old-truman-brewery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.westminster.ac.uk\/thevoiceoflondon\/overheard-in-shoreditch-we-eavesdrop-on-hipsters-milling-about-the-old-truman-brewery\/","title":{"rendered":"Overheard in Shoreditch: We eavesdrop on hipsters milling about The Old Truman Brewery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hipsters are an intriguing creature when allowed to flourish in their natural habitat, and are renowned for providing fascinating soundbites. We swung by The Old Truman Brewery’s “Martyrs & Matryoshkas” exhibition to listen in on the in-crowd’s take on the artwork.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Reporter: Yasmin Jeffery I Sub-Editor: James Brookes<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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The Martyrs & Matryoshkas exhibition at The Old Truman Brewery I (All images by Yasmin Jeffery)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

We all know the negative connotations associated with the word \u201chipster\u201d. London\u2019s indie darlings are so despised barely anyone would admit to adopting the hipster way of life in this day and age.<\/p>\n

This is easy to understand; no one would consciously choose to label themselves as a vacuous, superficial person who routinely prizes aesthetics over basic functionality, or the alternative over the mainstream just for the sake of it.<\/p>\n

Because art is avant-garde and alternative by nature, hipsters can always be found in London\u2019s contemporary art scene: an important element to being alternative is acting like you know everything about anything underground and off the beaten track.\u00a0In other words, art.<\/p>\n

But do hipsters\u2019 opinions on art actually mean anything? Or do they exist to seek out the most alternative artwork they can find in their never-ending search for the \u201cnext big underground thing\u201d?<\/p>\n

I skulked around The Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane \u2013 beer brewers turned hipster playground since its 2010 revival as a creative space \u2013 to find out how off-base hipsters\u2019 opinions on art really are.<\/p>\n

Walking into the gallery and out of the constant din that is Brick Lane where everything from vintage clothes, cheap curry and overpriced cereals are on offer, I am immediately confronted by a\u00a0life-size\u00a0hanging installation of what seems to be some sort of multicoloured Eastern European doll.<\/p>\n

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First impressions … Karina Akopyan’s show has pulled an interesting crowd<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

This month, The Old Truman Brewery is exhibiting the works of Karina Akopyan, a Russian-born, London-based artist whose art spans across the mediums of painting, photography, sculpture, installations and costume.<\/p>\n

Her latest exhibition, titled \u201cMartyrs & Matryoshkas\u201d, is described as a deliberately provocative exploration into \u201ctradition, religion, ritual, iconography, sexuality and fetishism \u2013 in all their jarring coexistence yet inevitable convergence\u201d, by\u00a0The Old Truman Brewery.<\/a><\/p>\n

Akopyan\u2019s collection of new and recent bright, iconography-laden work urges audiences to question the complex dichotomy between the \u201cpreservation of values and traditions, as either a beautiful necessity or, rather, a deceleration of progress\u201d.<\/p>\n

Eagerly starting off on my first lap of the room, I spy a handful of eager art connoisseurs \u2013 both amateur and seemingly seasoned \u2013 dotted throughout the gallery.<\/p>\n

Midway through my entrance lap, I cannot help but overhear a young mousey woman, dressed in dungarees with a pair of horn-rimmed glasses sitting atop her nose, referring to the artist slightly too loudly in a conversation with her partner, whose arm is draped casually around her waist.<\/p>\n

She proclaims: \u201cI knew her art before it was exhibited on mainstream platforms like this \u2013 I think I first saw her stuff in her graduate exhibition with Kingston. God, that must have been years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mixing ritual, religion and iconography, Akopyan urges visitors to consider the role tradition plays in modern society<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rolling my eyes at the hipster clich\u00e9 in plain sight, I walk towards a sculpture of a Queen of Hearts-esque character, but from hell.<\/p>\n

While taking a moment to drink in the art for myself and acclimatise to the surroundings, my ears prick up as a conversation between two norm core visitors stood next to me gets interesting.<\/p>\n

One half of the pair \u2013 dressed in white chinos and New Balance trainers despite the recent scandal \u2013 attempts to pronounce Akopyan\u2019s surname while offering his opinion on the exhibition.<\/p>\n

With no regard for his feelings, his friend, who clearly likes to watch the world burn, says: \u201cYou\u2019re saying her name wrong, it\u2019s \u2018Ako-pee-yan\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

How to avoid sounding\u00a0like an idiot at an art gallery<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Don\u2019t try and be the same as all the different people. Be yourself \u2013 it\u2019s a clich\u00e9 because it works.<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Try not to attend shows based on their \u201cunderground\u201d factor.<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. Think about how the art at any given show is supposed to make you feel, as opposed to what it looks like.<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. Don\u2019t try and impress others.<\/em><\/li>\n
  5. Take the time to drink in your surroundings before offering conclusions.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Bemused, but with no clue as to which one of them is right, I continue listening as the embarrassed New Balance-wearer says: \u201cOh my god, I’m so awful.\u201d<\/p>\n

    In an effort to placate his friend, the moustache-wearing man replies: \u201cNo, it\u2019s fine. I didn\u2019t know how to say \u2018Melania Trump\u2019 until like a month ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

    About to judge the pair for their vacuous conversation, I mentally berate myself; I had no idea how to pronounce Melania Trump\u2019s name until about the same time, and wouldn\u2019t know where to begin with Akopyan.<\/p>\n

    Catching the eye of one of the gallery workers, I walk over and motion to the two friends with a cursory glance, before asking whether the snippets of conversations I\u2019ve heard during my visit are representative of the usual crowd.<\/p>\n

    She tells me: \u201cYou could say I’m a hipster, but I don’t like to use that word… I’d say it’s more people who are living in east London, so yeah they’re obviously a bit alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n

    So, that\u2019s that then. Despite publications such as\u00a0Mashable<\/a>,\u00a0The Guardian<\/a>\u00a0and the like declaring the death of the hipster, they are yet to go extinct.<\/p>\n

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    Deliberately provocative … Akopyan’s bright, multicoloured work spans sculpture, paintings, installations and costume<\/p><\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Job done, I thank the gallery worker and start to make my way home. On my way out, I chance upon one last snippet of a conversation between two women, and hover awkwardly by the doorway to catch it in all its glory.<\/p>\n

    Both staring at their phones as they upload snaps from the show to Instagram, one friend innocently asks the other: \u201cSo, what did you think \u2013 your kind of art?\u201d<\/p>\n

    Her friend, dressed head-to-toe in black, replies: \u201cWell I guess I naturally gravitate towards anamorphosis, so this show didn\u2019t really do it for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Looking slightly bemused for a moment, the first woman manages to collect herself, and responds: \u201cOh yeah completely, such a good shout.\u201d<\/p>\n

    They turn the corner and walk away, fading into the crowd of like-minded souls dressed in similarly ostentatious outfits.<\/p>\n

    Left puzzling the state of the world, I put my camera away and begin the journey back to north west London \u2013 a simpler place full of Coral branches and chicken shops, and absolutely zero proclamations that one \u201cknew about X before it went mainstream\u201d.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Martyrs & Matryoshkas is on show at The Old Truman Brewery from 8-18 December, 11-7.<\/em><\/p>\n

    \n
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    Undeniable masterpiece … Akopyan’s show is worth the visit despite the hipster crowd<\/p><\/div>\n

     <\/p>\n

    @VoiceofLDNarts<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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