In conjunction with Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2016, three contemporary exhibitions take up Platform 1 Gallery, an arts/creative project space in historic Wandsworth Common Station. From 6-22 May 2016.

Illustration of London, Brighton and South Coast Railway B1 Class of locomotive. Image courtesy robpashcroft.wordpress.com
Illustration of London, Brighton and South Coast Railway B1 Class of locomotive. Image courtesy robpashcroft.wordpress.com

Former Victorian-era station waiting room is afternoonified* into a nanty-narking* art space

When Wandsworth Common Station opened in 1869, it was exceedingly proper that ladies and gentlemen have separate waiting areas in which to bide their time for the next train. Over the next 150 years, this space served the ladies of Wandsworth, then later, perhaps the gentlemen too, before eventually becoming a storage bunker for the staff of the various railway companies in charge of the station.

Then in 1998, a chance meeting between a group of artists looking for project space and a railway manager led to the transformation of the derelict waiting room into Platform 1 Gallery, a dynamic artist studio and place for creative collaboration, led by designer Gregory Epps.

Platform 1 Gallery. Image courtesy Platform1Gallery.co.uk
Platform 1 Gallery. Image courtesy Platform1Gallery.co.uk

In 2005, artist Ema Mano regenerated Platform 1 Gallery again into a public art site with programmes of exhibitions and artist residencies. Since the very beginnings, Platform 1 Gallery continues to operate as it started; it is a creative space encompassing all aspects of making from visual arts, fashion and jewellery, music, photography, and film.

Platform 1 Gallery on Wandsworth Common Station. Image courtesy Platform 1 Gallery website.
Platform 1 Gallery on Wandsworth Common Station. Image courtesy Platform 1 Gallery website.

This year, Platform 1 Gallery joins Wandsworth Fringe Arts 2016 for three exhibition projects in visual art and performance: the first is “Fragments and Traces” from artists Kelise Franclemont and Antonia Jackson, followed by “Transcending” from artist Ema Mano Epps with Verica Kovacevska and Norman Mine, and finally, “Fragment” by sculptor Anna Flemming.

* “afternoonified”: to smarten up; *”nanty-narking”: great fun; Victorian-era slang circa 1800s

Platform 1 Gallery and Wandsworth Fringe 2016

“Fragments and Traces: l’invitation au voyage” – 5 to 8 May 2016

Antonia Jackson, ‘The mythical Nile (Egypt late 1970s)’, 2015. Image courtesy the artist.
Kelise Franclemont, from ‘Postcards from the Land of No People’, 2015. Image courtesy the artist.
Make-one/Take-one postcard memory exchange. Image courtesy the artists.

Artists Antonia Jackson and Kelise Franclemont explore memory, travel, and passage of time through paintings, installation, and new media. Throughout each day, along with the exhibition of artworks, Antonia and Kelise will engage visitors in trading memories and creating new ones in an ongoing make-one/take-one souvenir postcard exchange.

More: http://wandsworthfringe.com/2016/event/fragment-and-traces-part-1-invitation-to-the-voyage

“Transcending” – 12 to 15 May 2016

Work by Ema Mano Epps in 'Transcending' at Platform 1 Gallery, Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2016, London. Image courtesy the artist. More: http://wandsworthfringe.com/2016/event/transcending
Work by Ema Mano Epps in ‘Transcending’ at Platform 1 Gallery, Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2016, London. Image courtesy the artist.

Ema Mano Epps shares the explosive colour of inner balance in battle with the chaos of society’s outer inhumane ego. Artist Norman Mine performs a response and Verica Kovacevska holds an online talk from Zurich, presenting ‘The house we grew up in’, the life of three generations. – from Wandsworth Arts Fringe website

More: http://wandsworthfringe.com/2016/event/transcending

“Fragment” – 19 to 22 May 2016

Anna Flemming, 'Kitschy', 2015, modroc, wire, shells, fabric, wood. Image courtesy the artist.
Anna Flemming, ‘Kitschy’, 2015, modroc, wire, shells, fabric, wood. Image courtesy the artist.

Anna Flemming’s recent work is influenced by the practice of constructing artificial ruins as garden ornamentation. Ruins, often taken to signify nature’s triumph over culture, are also intended to be picturesque. Anna has recently been working on a series of artificial rock sculptures…[which] appear to have been affected by natural forces, but have in fact been constructed by hand. Therefore they allude to the natural fragmentation of aesthetics caused by time and its gradual erosion. – from Wandsworth Fringe Website

More: http://wandsworthfringe.com/2016/event/fragment

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway poster, 1906. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Wandsworth Common Station, Platform 1 in London, UK. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

More links and info about Platform 1 Gallery and Wandsworth Arts Fringe

Event details: Platform 1 Gallery is on Wandsworth Common Station, Platform 1, Wandsworth Common, London SW12 8SG (entrance to the station and Platform 1 Gallery from Jaggard Way) and presents three exhibitions during Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2016:

“Fragments and Traces” – 5 to 8 May 2016 – Artists Antonia Jackson and Kelise Franclemont explore time, memory, and travel through painting, new media, and installation.

“Transcending” – 12 to 15 May 2016 – Artist Ema Mano Epps is joined by guest performers Verica Kovacevska and Norman Mine.

“Fragment” – 19 to 22 May 2016 – Recent works by sculptor Anna Flemming who is “influenced by the practice of constructing artificial ruins as garden ornamentation”.

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