THE HIGH LIFE
Where better to stage a show about aspirational living than at London's oh-so-fashionable Oxo tower (right), a landmark of nouveau chic awash with balsamic vinegar and artfully rumpled linen suits? "Inspired by and questioning hip lifestyles", Aspirational Living consists of five individual installations tailored to fit five identical spaces. Hip consumers eager to "buy into" contemporary culture can graze through multi-media meditations, collaboratively assembled by the likes of design collective TOMATO and Brit-pack artist Gavin Turk, who will have his two children working with him for the first time (a trendy lifestyle statement if ever there was one). Along with Alexander Boxhill, Turk will be creating a child's ideal home, proving, perhaps, that it's never too early to start finessing the shade of wash you want to adorn the walls of your minimalist playhouse. For an exhibition which aims to examine how cultural icons are exploited within the art, design and fashion media, the participation of an artist called James Dean seems fortuitous. Renowned for his absurdist use of everyday materials, the sculptor will be working with fashion designer Charlie Allen to produce a provocative piece of interior decoration based on "a sofa, a shed and some concrete boots". Other exhibitors include recycled furniture-makers JAM whose work will be pointing a large finger at the National Lottery, and the spin-off issues of ownership and arts funding. General Lighting and Power, meanwhile, will be yoking their digital design talents to the sounds of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion to create a low-rent "Vegas lounge interior". A bit of sordid slumming for the installation-art set - you can't get much more aspirational than that.
First Floor, South Side, Oxo Tower, Bargehouse St, London SE1, daily 12noon-7.30pm, to 3 Aug (not Mon)
Liese Spencer
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