!WOWOW!

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!WOWOW! is a collective in Peckham, London.[1] Otherwise known as The Children of !WOWOW!, they are a group of artists, fashion designers, writers and musicians, who have promoted numerous art events and parties in London and Berlin.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

!WOWOW! began in the back of the Joiners Arms in Camberwell in 2003. In 2004 the collective squatted a large victorian co-op in Peckham South East Londonand made it into an artist run space. . They include fashion designer Gareth Pugh[3] performance artist Millie Brown, video installation artist Adham Faramawy, and artist Matthew Stone. Other artists to have shown in the !WOWOW! space include Boo Saville, James Balmforth and Ellie Tobin.[4]

In 2003 !WOWOW! organised warehouse parties in Peckham.[5] At times club nights with 2,000 people took place.[3] One of these was attended by Lauren Bush, the US President's niece, with two CIA bodyguards.[3]

The second show by the collective in December 2004 was of paintings, film, photography and performance by recent Slade graduates for a month in the Victorian building at 251 Rye Lane, Peckham, formely occupied by the Co-Op shop, which the artists gutted and refurbished.[6] The artists, who curated the exhibition together, included Chloe Dewe Mathews with photographs of lidos, Matthew Stone with digital recreations of old paintings, Boo Saville with monkey paintings and biro drawings and Rachael Haines with collages.[6] The opening featured shamanistic chanting, a shopping Trolley Mardi Gras, live bands and a recreation of Michael Jackson's Thriller video by performance artist Lali Chetwynd's troupe.[6]

In November 2005, the Children of !WOWOW! organised a week-long event in a large warehouse in Peckham, curated by member Gareth Cadwallader, and in a number of smaller venues in the area, featuring members of the collective and also Mark McGowan.[4] Events included Stolen Cinema with cult films from a local rental shop, Richard Elms' play Factory Dog, and a Greasy Spoon Art Salon Breakfast presided over by Lali Chetwynd and Zoe Brown.[4] The week culminated with a party for 1500 people, with 10,000 bottles of beer, 500 bottles of whiskey and 13 live bands on stage. The bands included The So Silage Crew, Ludes, The Long Blondes and Ivich Lives.[4]

The !WOWOW! squat created its own "distinctly odd harlequin-esque fashion style", through Gareth Pughs' participation.[3] Hanna Cowan and Katie Shillingford edited FashionArtLeisure, a fanzine affiliated to the group.[7]

Matthew Stone said:

“ It was an opportunity to invest in what we believed in, rather than chipping off bits of our soul working as unpaid interns. The practicalities of not having to work meant that we could be playful with what we did, but some serious ideas came out of that ridiculous house."[3] ”

Since the !WOWOW! collective left their original building in 2006, They have organised events in Berlin and also squatted a Kwik Fit Garage in Camberwell for an exhibition. Millie Brown and Adham Faramawy have organised several art and music events. These have including an event in March 2007 in Birmingham. Along with the original group, several other artists and performers exhibited, including Ben Schumacher, Lennie Lee and Fayann Smith, otherwise known as K-tron.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Radnofsky, Louise "Art house", The Guardian, 3 November 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2007
  2. ^ "Wowowow! event", Architecture Foundation. Retrieved 19 April 2007
  3. ^ a b c d e "Peckham art squats", Time Out, 8 May 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2008
  4. ^ a b c d Watkins, Oliver Guy. "Goin' on South", State of Art. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  5. ^ Knight, Sam"Hope you saved your glow stick" The New York Times, January 21, 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2007
  6. ^ a b c Hoggard, Liz. "Knees-up at the Co-op", The Observer, 26 December 2004. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  7. ^ "Dispatches: Sleazenation team gets a new outfit", The Guardian, 30 January 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2008.

[edit] External links

www.inteconnectedechoes.blogspot.com