Oct 8, 2022

Destructive Mollusc by Haze Projects

I first came across Haze Project was at the Factory Project organised by THORP STAVRI a year ago. Camilla Bliss and Solanne Bernard are among the few young creatives who are as professional in their art practices as in curation. In their latest exhibition, they showed their unique sculptures alongside other artists' works, but I must admit that when I saw the list of all participants, I knew that I had to do everything to see this exhibition (even on the last day).

Like many experimental galleries in London, Staffordshire St is in a very interesting location. To get to it, you have to go through many diverse neighbourhoods - ones that you would rather not want to stand in elegant clothes and those that resemble charming houses from Cambridge. The exhibition space is comfortable, with wooden floors, high ceilings and industrial, white columns, but Haze Projects made it even more audience-friendly. Temporary walls with thin yellow fabric (I loved watching your Instagram stories when you were building it all) allowed each piece to have "their own space to breath".

As a visitor, you can approach the exhibition in two ways: either read the press release before entering the show or after. I always read it afterwards. As I moved between the airy walls of the Destructive Mollusc, every nook and cranny seemed to reveal a keynote to me. When I finally finished my "oh" and "ah" over each piece and read the three sentences describing the theme, I didn't have a tremendous revealing moment. I didn't think "aaaaa so that's what it is all about". Everything seemed clear the moment I entered the space. The walls, fabrics, colour palette, chosen artists and their artworks, the way of placing them, plinths and the lack of them for some pieces created one beautiful, poetic whole. The narrative was in front of me, not on paper but in space.

I left the gallery feeling fulfilled.

Next time, when someone asks me, ‘what is the role of a curator in the exhibition space?’ I will show them this exhibition as a perfect example. It’s a process of decision-making the audience can’t see and a visual language that creates a unique experience. At the Destructive Mollusc exhibition, curated by Haze Projects, I didn't have to look at the words written in the press release to reveal the truth- I felt connected to what I saw in front of them.