Take one derelict building, smash all the windows and call it art. That’s the creative formula from artist Alex Chinneck whose unusual exhibit is now on show in Hackney.
But look a bit closer. Alex hasn’t simply smashed the windows, he’s replaced them all with identically shattered panes. After clearing out an abandoned factory — once used to grow cannabis — the artist painstakingly recreated a single smashed panel 312 times, before reinstalling them into the factory window frames. The result is a subtle warping of the familiar. An act of destruction becomes an act of creativity, and the condemned building suddenly becomes a talking point and even a puzzle for those who aren’t aware of the back-story.
“I like the simple idea of performing a magic trick on such a scale,” says Alex.
The installation, called Telling the Truth Through False Teeth, can be found on the corner of Mare Street and Tudor Road, Hackney, E9 7FE until November, and is arranged in association with Sumarria Lunn Gallery.
