Simeon Barclay review โ shut out by the gates of a drab modern Britain
John Hansard Gallery, Southampton Farewell Sweet Innocence references cinema, football, music and Windrush โ itโs about trying to fit in, but always falling short, even as a Turner-nominated artist Thereโs that old Marxist (Groucho, not Karl) saying about refusing to join any club that would have you as a member. Simeon Barclay takes that idea one step further in his work, because he knows that even if the club would have him, heโd never be truly accepted anyway. He calls his show in Southampton โa lament of sorts, to access and lossโ. It comes just a few weeks after he got nominated for the Turner prize, and itโs a damn fine argument for why he should probably win it. This is an exhibition all about exclusion, about trying to fit in but never quite managing. Itโs razor-sharp, funny, pop-cultural, obtuse conceptual art about growing up black in Britain, about trying to make it and knowing youโre bound to fail, because the system is geared towards failure. Continue reading...