Hoerengracht

Something i went to a while back, its since then evacuated the Tate but worth keeping an eye on these two - the crazy cats.

                       

As I ponder gently through the backstreets of 1980’s Amsterdam. Apartments, dimly lit by garish red light bulbs, line the pathways of the city, their curtains (which could easily match elderly décor all over the UK) closed to the voyeuristic crowds. Vandalised bikes, the now apparently disabled crown of its tourist world, rest up against rusting racks. Crisp leaves are scattered across the stained kerbs which lead onto… perfectly panelled mahogany flooring. A scantily clad woman, her legs suggestively opened, stares glassily out of her room, almost making eye contact with the blond haired … gallery assistant. I have not taken a wrong turn on an ill-fated school exchange but merely stepped into the latest free exhibition at the National Gallery. Ed and Nancy Kienholz recently installed creation, is hailed the Hoerengracht and is another addition to overseas work exploring the sex trade, much like Shirin Fakrim work, though lacking the sympathetic and humorous edge.  If you perchance visit this capitals cultural jewel you will be surprised to wander, perhaps slightly jaded and dumbfounded from the previous room stocked full of Italian masters, into a dark room. If you subtract the overprotective gallery staff and the perturbed young children whose parents are clearly regretting not reading into it more, this is a fresh and dramatic projection of a well known but murky area of Amsterdam’s heritage. Sensory play is clearly on the Kienholz’ joined mind - the exhibition reeks of a pungent scent which transports me back to the manufactured stench of the London Dungeons. They even go as far as to fill room with the invading tunes of club music, which the gallery attempts to stifle with its unnatural acoustics. This installation, though awkwardly welcomed like your purposely avoided in-laws, achieves the rare feat of actually completely absorbing the audience. Though the middle age couple, after uneasily surveying chain smoking prostitutes, hurry out of the doors only minutes after entering, they still prove my point. Ed and Nancy achieve the award lusted after by all artists – affecting the viewers. Whether positive or negative, disgusted or enthralled, the Hoerengracht is a bold and challenging piece which successfully conveys the dramatisation of the red light district. And though you may not achieve the comfortable stance of the mannequins entombed in there, you will leave it without the flight fare but with all the knowledge an actual trip to this area could have given you.