I was shown the exhibit pretty much piece by piece by curator Louisa Briggs. Restless Times took three and a half years in the making, to quote an oft-used cliché, every piece really does tell a story and fit perfectly into the exhibit. Using art as a form of historical documentation, evident changes in history can be viewed, seemingly minute developments such as the invention of the light bulb formulating new challenges in shade and shape for artists.

 

This isn’t a stereotypical war exhibit so don’t go expecting 167 paintings of munitions and misery. There are five sections with themes that run across each. One particularly interesting section shows work from Vorticist artists, whose love for machinery and modernism faltered after seeing the destruction of war. Prominent works include those of Wyndham Lewis, with a copy of BLAST Magazine (all you zine-heads take note) on display. With only two editions published it is cemented as the quintessential modernism mag of the 20^th century.

 

Amongst the paintings there are also a couple of sculptures. Brzeska’s ‘Bird Swallowing a Fish’ circa 1913, is of two armoured creatures, strongly evoking the feeling of war.

 

What’s most surprising is how relevant the work is to today’s society. There is a whole section devoted to nostalgic views of Britain. After the war, artists tried to rediscover Britain, to paint it for its glory, a disillusioned nation trying to find its identity. Current trends in society see a large chunk of the population longing for better times. In a social, political and cultural context the connection between past and present can be made, it brings a more human element into the work on display.

 

Notably the exhibit culminates in a grand piece by Hew Locke, who is currently shortlisted for the fourth plinth at Trafalgar. There is so much to say about this exhibition, that my words cannot fully do it justice. The meticulous efforts by the staff have paid off with a cleverly arranged exhibit, putting a new twist on an old story. It runs until the 30^th January at the Millennium Gallery.