Chaimowicz’s instillation offers a personal exploration of his own personal response to the history of the Serpentine Gallery. Through a vast number of mediums, such as instillation, architecture, painting, product design and interior decor, he has responded to natural surroundings of the once cafe found in Hyde Park tuned art gallery in 1970. Marc has cleverly used light, space and his won artwork to create a beautiful interior design that responds to his surroundings, but also creates an immensely beautiful space that combines the art gallery and home comfort.

A room I found to be particularly of interest was ‘Enough Tiranny’ which he recreated an exhibition that was featured at the gallery in 1972, which was a ‘scattered environment’, one that resembled much of the work I see produced by Tracy Emin. It could be called an organised mess that combines the glamor and rock culture of that era, something that many artists use of inspiration today.

Chaimowicz’s combination of inspirations from the historical context of the Serpentine Gallery history, location and style have allowed him to interpret his visions into something he found most appropriate. He has done this through a form of interior design, and the walk through the gallery resembles a beautiful sketchbook of ideas and inspirations before you meet the final finished room. The way he has used the space throughout the exhibition is extremely beautiful, and when walking through it almost feels like a process in itself. I believe he has accomplished the task of representing the gallery in itself beautifully and served justice to its overall existence.

Mike Kelly’s 1999 instillation ‘Framed and Frame’ explores his obsession with American’s many subcultures created by the freedom of the American dream. During the continents greatest time, where new jobs sprung everyday, many migrated to America in search of a better life. Kelly has taken inspiration from Los Angeles’ growing Chinese- American community and created a space that explores how the two cultures come together, to both celebrate each other and conflict against one and other.

Initially as you enter the Gallery, you are faced with ‘Frame’, a 9×15 foot enclosure comprised of a traditional Chinese gate fenced in across the two open edges by a tall metal fence with barded wire protecting the top layer like a prison gate. Kelly has linked the gate to the frame of a painting, which he said “focuses the attention of the viewer on the discreet forms within the painting”.

The second part to the exhibition is “Framed” which suggest a more diverse approach to the issues at hand, however this could be due to the lack of frame, but just two paintings on each wall that Kelly felt were necessary components to the piece. It is a recreation of a ‘wishing well’ although it takes the appearance of a large scrap piece of concrete decorated with religious embellishments and spray painted with specs of colour. The work explores the narrative of the joining religious communities in LA, and how such a small area has collided and created with so many ethnicities and beliefs; he said, ‘the Chinatown wishing well represents a time in recent past when cultural exoticism on the civic level could flourish unchallenged. It represents an era in Los Angeles when Anna May Wong – the Chinese American actress […] could plant a willow tree, donated in her honour by Paramount Studios, on the concrete lump and make it seem a proud moment.’ The installation also features a small cubby hole within the concrete structure where a small mattress, candle and condoms lie to symbolise the homeless issue that LA faces and how this problem integrates itself within the subcultures.

Kelly has created a truly unique exploration of the beauty and ugliness that such a diverse yet unintegrated community can make. The joining of so many cultures who all seek the same freedom, however all bring aspects of there past to there new life. The extreme diversity of a city can only be found in very few places on the world, something worth celebrating yet so hard to portray, although I believe Kelly has achieved this goal beautifully and honestly.                      

As feminism becomes more and more widely understood, an increasingly generous number of individuals are taking time to define what feminism means to them. This self realisation and investigation allows us to come to terms with how we feel about issues, and art gives us the opportunity to express these concerns; through photography and film, The Photographers Gallery have pieced together work from forty eight international female artists from the 1970s who were been coming to terms with what they think feminism means, and how they can interpret this through visual communication.

The exhibition is split into four areas; `Domestic Agenda´ , `The Seductive Body: Sexuality and Objectification´, `In My Skin: Normative Beauty and the Limits of the Body´, `Alter Ego: Masquerade, Parody and Self-Representation´. Through mediums, the artists have used themselves and there own experiences to demonstrate personal struggles, especially through culture, of there roles as women who have fought for the realisation of gender inequality.

More now than ever before, we can see a significant change in the way women perceive themselves. We no longer look at history and tradition to define who we are, but focus on the future for change and appreciate this incredible adaptation in history. The feminist movement has inspired freedom in everyone, and acceptance in the fact that people are different yet we need to embrace this.