The Wallis Gallery
Hackney, London E9
By Patricia Jorro Gomez-Mugica

The hardest part about visiting the Wallis Gallery is finding Wallis Street. Once you achieve that the rest is easy. Right at the end of the street there is a big building that holds The Wallis Gallery. The gallery is the second floor of the building. From the landing, a small door opens onto the amazing flexible warehouse space where Edward Fornieles, Ross McNicol and Vanessa Carlos, have created an space full of possibilities, high ceilings and where walls can be built and demolished at a stroke to provide the most appropriate space for each exhibition.

They do all kinds of exhibits including, painting, sculpture, performances and even a show on the river. The gallery has an amazing view where the river is immediately bellow the fire exit, which was used for the river show, and the Olympic grounds are spotted from there.

Their last exhibit was ‘In Violet Night’ where work by Edward Fornieles Julian Mills Arnold, Ross McNicol, and LPR Homer were shown. Each artist has a different form of engaging with the world through the art they create.

Edward Fornieles sculptures are for the viewer to experience, like “Buy Buzz” a metal ladder which seems to take the viewer away from the space, through a platform suspended from the ceiling. Julian Mills Arnold performances which go on in the Violet night are improvised and unrehearsed full of personal references and accompanied sometimes by a guitar that intensifies his words. Ross McNicol’s photography follows a complex process where the artist doesn’t leave anything to the unconscious, for example ‘Goddess’ is a beautiful photograph of his girlfriend, which seems easy to read but has followed a very intense making. LPR Homer paints very personal scenes working with cheap materials such as wood and paper and making the viewer sometime uneasy of what there is to be seen.

Edward Fornieles, Vanessa de Carlos and Ross McNicol main interest and main ethos of the gallery is to be able to show undiscovered talent. They act as curators and also show their own art. Edward and Vanessa are Ruskin Graduates and Ross is a photographer. As well as using the space to show theirs and other artists work, they use the back of the gallery to create their own projects.

The gallery can be visited by appointment and most Saturdays there are performances or games or even both going on. Where everyone becomes a part of the jigsaw, friends meet at the gallery at 7:00 pm to watch, laugh and play. Any one can join and you will always feel welcome. So if you want to have a fun night this is a perfect way of seeing young artists creating and enjoying themselves in a great atmosphere and become part of their work.

That is if first, you find your way to the gallery. I strongly suggest taking the London overground from Stratford to Hackney Wick from there turn right and keep walking until you find Wallis Street.

Patricia Jorro Gomez-Mugica

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