Stuart Simler - The Storm Within

Door #16 with Bankside Pier and
Cannon St Station in background.

The whole Cardboard City project has been a wonderful opportunity to regularly get off my sofa and out into London's swirling masses. I've been able to get to know the current work of new artists and old friends alike. Today is a chance to take stock of the artist who has devised and executed this intervention. The idea has been gestating since our first official CollectConnect show in September 2012 but has really come to life in the past 3 months under the cavalier direction of Stuart Simler.
 
As well as being one of CollectConnect's long suffering guardians, Stuart is also a high profile Arts facilitator working on diverse projects for clients like The British Council and the Kew Botanical Gardens. Over a cup of coffee in the Royal Festival Hall he told me a little about what is behind door number 16,


The 16th Door - Cardboard City Exhibition

'Horizon' is a response to the maelstrom we often find ourselves living in - sure, there are the times when all feels peaceful but more and more it seems that someone is trying to push us into a corner of social conformity. Something that is quantifiable is more easy to manage and put a statistic behind when really everything is changing daily, the weather, the skyline, the economy and more importantly our perception of all the above and more. This ever shifting landscape can often seem daunting and offer little in the way of support or security.



Stuart Simler - Horizon

Stuart is one of only a handful of abstract artists who works on these type of projects with us. It is a brave choice when the public (and I admit to being one) expects information to be cut up into bite size pieces with an easily digestible message to bounce on the palate.

Who knows what is on the horizon for our society tomorrow but I would bet my life on an another Cardboard City door opening.

I was able to meet up with CollectConnect's Dean Reddick yesterday on the Southbank, who informed me that his Books of Nets will be coming out in March or April 2014 with contributions invited from artists. More information to follow here on the CollectConnect blog.

AL.