Cary Loren - Junk Mail from the Palace

About

French Riviera is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in London by Detroit-based artist Cary Loren. Junk Mail from the Palace began as a series of collages made over the past year inspired by readings from Sir Richard Burton's translation of the Arabian Tales of a Thousand and One Nights. After reading the tales, Loren began to select details from the stories that stood out, elements of poetic mystery and imagination. The collages are attached to specific tales but also veer off in new directions, becoming variations on the narration by the storyteller Scheherazade. Details of the 1001 Nights are blended with pop culture, politics, symbols and myths. The collages are made from magazines, old Victorian paper scraps, newsprint, photos and cut papers; sometimes painted, stained and shellacked. The front windows of French Riviera will be made into a proscenium or set for space mobiles and music – a miniature Theatre of Eternal Music set in motion, a light, sound, sculpture and street performance, an overture to the story, a time-machine mirror for the Arabian fantasy. A site specific installation will transform the French Riviera interior using clouds, fabrics, carpets, hangings and designs to echo the theme and mystery of 1001 Nights.

During the afternoon preview on Sunday 23 May, at 3:30pm, an improvisation and reading will feature London based musician Kenichi Iwasa and Loren in an electric-acoustic performance based on 1001 Arabian Nights.