Art Review: David Hall – End Piece @ Ambika P3

Tabish Khan
By Tabish Khan Last edited 144 months ago
Art Review: David Hall – End Piece @ Ambika P3

David Hall

If you are one of the millions who already watch digital TV, you may be unaware that the analogue signal will stop between 4 and 18 April.

To mark this occasion David Hall has placed 1,001 old televisions upturned in the massive space that is the Ambika P3 gallery. Even before you enter you can hear the cacophony of the TVs all tuned to one of the five analogue channels.

From above, the installation is a sea of bright colours and it feels like an assault on the senses. Visit the exhibition when the analogue signal stops and all you’ll see and hear will be static and white noise.

The smaller rooms are used to display some of Hall’s earlier works but they aren't as captivating as his centrepiece.

As Hall has based his artistic career around television, there is a personal touch about his art and you too will feel some nostalgia for the days when there were no flatscreen TVs and the picture quality was grainy.

Rather than an art installation, Hall’s exhibition feels more like a memorial for days gone by. It’s great that technology has progressed, but this is a fitting tribute to the end of an era.

David Hall: End Piece is on at Ambika P3, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS until 22 April. Entrance is free.

Last Updated 17 March 2012