A wide swathe of commercial galleries opening from Battersea to Bermondsey and down into Peckham and Deptford mean that the capital’s former no-go underbelly has become a major contemporary art hub, albeit one spread over a large area. South London spaces come in all forms—from gritty and industrial through to the intimate and domestic.
Rafal Zajko: Song to the Siren
Until 27 May, Cooke Latham Gallery, 41 Parkgate Road, Battersea, SW11 4NP
A belief in the inherent queerness of science fiction as an arena of otherness lies at the core of this dramatic multi-sensory installation. Wall-hung works resemble a dysfunctional circuit board or control system, flashing with coloured lights and emitting steam and smoke, while six freestanding interactive vessel-like works in terracotta are activated by visitors’ heat and breath to discharge smoky vapour and shrill whistles.
