My Metamorphosis

FINALLY, after two weeks of being stuck indoors with the flu I woke up yesterday feeling BETTER and fancied hitting the town. I ignored the “I think I might be coming down with something” off Brian and we headed out into the dank London air. First stop: The Crypt, Holy Trinity Church, Marylebone.

Flaming torches lit the way down to the cavernous, vaulted space where we were greeted with a glass of Champagne and a waxy slab of raw meat the size of a family hatchback and oozing blood - only the hipster perched on the corner, swigging fizz and appearing to be unconcerned about his swag gave the game away: that this was art and not something from the abattoir. 

The title of the exhibition, “Metamorphosis” was interpreted by most of the artists as a nightmarish mutation of decaying flesh into something a little prettier, and visa versa. Glistening tentacles coiled around road kill and adorned with sweet little hummingbirds anyone? Followed by a downy piglet whose spilled entrails have spawned a family of magical mushrooms, all topped off with another cute stuffed birdie. 
"Brian! You feeling okay?"
Other pieces were alluringly beautiful and macabre - an ornate, gilt and glass coffee table housed a barely-there, human figure, woven from gossamer thread - as fragile and precious as a holy relic. Hard to describe so here it is…

Paul Hazelton for All Visual Arts

Escaping up the fire escape to the mezzanine floor and we were face to face with the exquisitely detailed ceramic head of a startled hare, which, as you peer at it, creepily morphs into a frightening half-monster, half-human skull. All the kind of stuff that should set alarm bells ringing were you to stumble upon it back at your date's pad after a few drinks but quite at home in the dramatically lit crypt. I found the show mysterious, alluring and an excellent night out. There were a couple of things that I could happily live with – the picture that they chose for the flyer is an inspired cocktail of dark, lurking crocodile; dripping fruits and fairy lights and the other picture that I loved was the understated and classy portrait of a woman by Jonathan Wateridge -