Jo Mama's Alphabet Show at Studio One Gallery

OPENING PARTY: SATURDAY 6TH 0CT 6PM TILL 9PM

Jo Mama's Alphabet Show features work from a veritable galaxy of art stars. Most of the work is brand new and has never been exhibited for. Not everything in the show is for sale as part of the show is made up of memorabilia and precious processions. Address: Studio One Gallery 7-9 Wandsworth Plain, SW18 1ES Directions: Get the overground train to Clapham Junction and then hop on an 87 bus, the last stop is Wandsworth Plain / Studio One Gallery. Around 8pm there will be a short performance by the poet Stephen Micalef followed by live music from FATBERG Please note... The works in this show were hung by Tori Day and Charlie Day, there will be a very cheap bar and at least two dogs running around. The weather forecast for Saturday is: drizzle. After the opening party the show will be open on Sunday 7th Oct, Saturday 13th of Oct and Sunday 14th of Oct from 12 till 6pm. No tickets required. Everyone is welcome.

Jo Mama's Alphabet Show goes like this... Ambassadors by Chris Coombes, Bear by Charlie Day, Chilli by Uzma Sultan, Doughnuts by Uzma Sultan, Exquisite Corpse by Dom Kennedy, Harry Pye, Kes Richardson, and Rose Wylie, Fox by Corin Johnson, Gilbert & George by Gilbert & George, Horse by James Johnston, Interview with a Legend by James Johnston, John & Yoko by Harry Pye and Rowland Smith, King by Rachael Robb, Leaves by Klarita Pandolphi, Match by Charlie Day, Nurofen by Russell Herron, Owl by Phil King, Proper Copper Coffee Pot by Tori Day, Queen by Lauren Heaver, Raccoon by Agnieszka Zapala, Sphinx by Aidan O' Sullivan, Top Spot by Tracey Emin, Uccello by Aidan O' Sullivan, Veni Vidi Vici by Moich Abrahams, Walk by Julian Wakeling, Xenophobia by Max Crow Reeves, Yawning Chasm by Gregory Williams, Zebra Market Stall by Harry Pye and Rowland Smith. (see bottom image)

Above: Jim and Dot (from Fatberg)

Above:James "Hound Dog" Lawson holding Max in front of K is for King by Rachael Robb

Above:Paul Wye in front of E is for Exquisite Corpse and G&G

Above: V is for Vendi, Vidi, Vinci (Artwork by Moich Abrahams, not in photo)

Above: Poetry please

Above: Cheek to Cheek (Pete Fields of the Slow Motion Cowboys)

Above: Fatberg L to R: Cameron Colbeck (Drums), Alex Weeks (Bass), Dot Dunn (Keyboards), Jim Aucutt (guitar and shouting) Above: More Mikalef

Above: Julian Wakeling with Greg Williams

Above: James Johnston clings on (photographed by Moitch Abrahams)

Above: Harry, John and Yoko (photographed by James Johnston)

Above: Phil "O is for Owl" King and Moich "V is for Veni, Vidi, Vici" Abrahams

Above: Agnieska Zapala & Co.

Above: Jim Aucutt singing with Fatberg

Above: Alex on Bass (with Fatberg)

Above: Raksha Patel

Above: Stephen Micalef with Lauren Heaver

Above: The artist Aidan O'Sullivan with his Uccello

Above:Lucky Peter Walsh finds a golden Jo Mama Beer Token

Above: The brilliant Pete Fields for more info on his band visit: here

Above: Duet

Above: Sally and Max

Above: 'Horse' by James Johnston in the top right corner

Above: Uzma Sultan with Chilli and Doughnuts

Above: Tori Day in front of Ambassadors by Chris Coombes

Above: A happy James Johnston

Above: The legendary Gabriella

Above: Harry with Corin Johnson's Fox

Hi, I’m Jo Mama. A lot of people come up to me and say, “Hey Jo, attempts to ingratiate yourself do the opposite. Don't try to be funny, interesting, original or clever, just be you and talk about the things that you love. Well, I love the alphabet. I think everyone loves the alphabet in a way, and from Braque to Bochner, Kruger to Holzer, Wool to Nauman, there have been many artists who've used the letters of the alphabet in their work. Sure, there are many artists who've never used the alphabet in their work, but maybe they once ate Alphabetti spaghetti, listened to the song 'ABC' by the Jackson Five, or received an A-C in Maths and English at GCSE. The artists comprising this show have not shied from the role language takes in experience. As a treasure trove of linguistic possibilities, the alphabet may even hold the key to the dead man's chest of that experience. And if you are seeking after such meaning, who better to turn than a spectral emissary, waxing arbitrary about the difference between one thing and its mother, on the basis of a convention lacking prior precedence? But don't worry, if language can be in any way opaque, it's no more so for you than it is for me. The darkness in which we are equally shrouded may well be in direct proportion to the potential we all have for radical illumination. And it's for this reason that Wandsworth is a natural home for an alphabet show. As a keystone of modern democracy, some pretty radical uses of language have taken shape here, challenging the idea that precedent was a given, or that some were naturally entitled to vote whilst others weren't. More than 20 artists have been specially selected for this exhibition. The work you're about to see is an erotic cut and shut of an ABC that includes: wildlife, a king, a queen, friendships, collaborations, and heroes and villains. I’m not the first artist to do a show based around the alphabet and I wont be the last. I want to live and I want to give and I don’t want to live in a cage of fear. Language is a prison house, but with the alphabet we're all free to face the fluorescent writing on the wall. I love you more than words. Always Already. Jo x

Q & A with Tori and Charlie Day from Studio One Gallery

"Jo Mama's Alphabet Show" is a group exhibition that opens on Saturday 6th of October at The Studio One Gallery in Wandsworth Plain. The exhibition features a different artwork for each letter of the alphabet. Some of the work that is being featured hasn't been exhibited anywhere for a long time, some aspects of the show are memorabilia or preciousness possessions that are just on loan to the gallery and not for sale, and there is also a generous helping of brand new paintings that have been made especially for the show. Tori Day is the artist representing the letter 'P' and Charlie Day is representing the letter 'B' Now read on...

Where did you two meet? And How long have you been running Studio One? C & T: We met at an Open Studios event at Collective Studios nine years ago. We fell in love, and married in 2014. We have been running Studio One Gallery there together since 2013.

Tori, what can you tell me about your painting of a Proper Coffee Pot? All my paintings are of real objects that mean something to me personally. I bought this pot whilst we were on holiday in Norfolk, in a village called Holt. It’s a fantastic place – very old fashioned and atmospheric, and full of antique and vintage shops. I love the basic design of this pot. And I love how disproportionately sturdy the handle is. The lacquer on the handle and the sheen of the copper of the pot are really seductive. I painted it as a challenge to myself to see if I could ‘do shiny’ well enough.

Charlie, what can you tell me about your self portrait as a bear? It was part of my ‘Bad Painting’ period. It just came to me as an image, a poor, forgotten, broken bear. It was later that another artist told me that it was clearly a self-portrait!

How would you describe your gallery and Wandsworth Plain? Is your gallery easy to find? C & T: Our gallery is possibly the smallest, wonkiest in London. Set atop a gorgeous Georgian building, there are no right angles at all, and anaglypta wallpaper, and we love it. We cleaned and varnished the wonky floorboards by hand – the most enjoyable 3 weeks work! It is so easy to find, if you don’t mind taking an overground train (!) to Clapham Junction. The 87 bus to Wandsworth from there terminates literally at our doorstep. Easy peasy.

Do you prefer dancing or swimming? C: Dancing. Not that you would know that was what I was doing! T: Dancing – but only because I can’t really swim. I can’t dance particularly well, either but I’d probably get points for trying.

What are you optimistic about? C & T: Our upcoming exhibition, There Must be a Song that Doesn’t Remind Me of You, at Gallery 35North in Brighton! It opens on 11th October…

Whose films have given you more pleasure over the years a) Spike Lee, b) Jim Jarmusch c) Sofia Coppola? C: Jim Jarmusch. T: Sofia Coppola. Lost in Translation is one of my absolute favourite films.

Who would play you in a film based on your life? C: Vic Reeves. T: Someone who could do a really good ‘worried and hungover’ face.

Charlie, what do you like most about Tori’s paintings? I like the fact that, although there is so much knowledge about still life painting embedded in each of her works, they are very much ‘portraits of objects’, as Tori says. I particularly enjoy her latest collection of miniature watercolours of our collection of CDs, including the price labels, scratches and often paint splatters from our studio.

Tori, what do you like most about Charlie’s paintings? His figurative stuff from a few years ago (when the bear was painted) I find so haunting. It’s full of tragicomedy, depicting scenes of a quintessential Englishness with both wit and sadness. A reflection of how each of us feels – vulnerable and ridiculous. His more recent abstract landscapes are uncanny in their ‘almost thereness’, which as scenes we can all relate to, yet cannot specifically identify, make them all the more intense.

What are your favourite books and records? C: After reading an awful lot of ‘art bollocks’ for both my BA and MA, I enjoy nothing better than losing myself in an Agatha Christie. Honestly, there is a good reason she is the best-selling fiction author of all time! Records – too many to mention, but we have been listening to a lot of swing and big band music recently, I suppose to get away from the shitty modern world we are living through! T: My favourite books are the sketchbooks I completed when Charlie and me first got together. I’ve uploaded lots of what I did over the years: https://www.flickr.com/photos/artyfish/page4 when we got together it was one of the most intense periods of creative output for me. I was so enthused with making art. It was non-stop. I was constantly drawing, it was brilliant. As far as published books go – I’ve read so very little it’s embarrassing. I rate Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks as a corker. And The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan is brilliant. I went through a period of reading books ‘one should read’ but found this to be more of an exercise of duty rather than enjoyment. I do love a good old fashioned dictionary, too…

How often do you paint? C: Not often enough! T: Ditto. We used to paint more often didn’t we. Then we got a dog….

Jo Mama's Alphabet Show is open to the public during the first two weekends of October 12 till 6pm

10 Questions for Moich Abrahams

"Jo Mama's Alphabet Show" is a group exhibition that opens on Saturday 6th of October at The Studio One Gallery in Wandsworth Plain. The exhibition features a different artwork for each letter of the alphabet. Some of the work that is being featured hasn't been exhibited anywhere for a long time, some aspects of the show are memorabilia or preciousness possessions that are just on loan to the gallery and not for sale, and there is also a generous helping of brand new paintings that have been made especially for the show. Moich Abrahams is hard at work making a new painting to represent the letter 'V' but he was persuaded to answer a few questions...

Q) What's the best thing about being Moich Abrahams? "I have some great friends and a lovely family. More and more I seem to be able to live in the present (cf “Isness is the business”), and opportunities to share some of my awesome experiences continuously keep arising, as well as, as if miraculously, my needs are mostly being met moment by moment."

Q) What's the meaning of life? "Life has whatever meaning you give to it...check out ‘The Law of Attraction’. For moi, my favourite ‘hat’ on this subject is hidden in open sight within the philosophy of advaita or non-duality. I love the quote from Long Chen Pa which says “Since everything is none other than exactly as it is one may well just break out in laughter”

Q) What can you tell me about the art schools you went to - did you receive a good education? "I attended Byam Shaw in its hey day (1970 -74); it has now got subsumed by St. Martins. I also was privileged to attend the first or was it the second part time MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths (1980-82) under the pioneer Jon Thompson. I was a mature student (only age wise!), and along the way, was fortunate to become acquainted and sometimes friends with eminent and colourful individuals such as Ken Kiff, George Melly, John Bellany and Antony Green etc . In many ways, as is fashionable in great colleges of art these days, one is sort of self taught, unlike in the academic old days. However, the structure and focus these institutions provided certainly could be considered as a ‘good education’. Bottom line, education wise, may come down to the quality of the teaching artists ability to transmit inspired tutorials. As I said, I think I was lucky to have met a few good guys. Otherwise, I have often had a yen to relate my art to that of ‘untrained’ artists, as in Art Brut and Outsider Art. However, owning an MA from Goldsmiths etc precludes me from belonging in that cohort."

Q) Which of Gilbert & George's ten commandments do you most approve of.... I Thou shalt fight conformism II Thou shalt be the messenger of freedoms IIIThou shalt make use of sex IV Thou shalt reinvent life V Thou shalt grab the soul VI Thou shalt give thy love VII Thou shalt create artificial art VIII Thou shalt have a sense of purpose IX Thou shalt not know exactly what thou dost, but thou shalt do it X Thou shalt give something back. "It's great to show with Gilbert and George in the Alphabet Exhibition. Regarding their 10 commandments I go for all of them!"

Q) Is there an artist that means so much to you - you might not be able to be friends with someone who dislikes them? "Well yup in a way, certainly that could apply to a friend who is ones full time romantic partner. If they hated eg Picasso and Miro for example, and maybe even Basquiat, that might be a deal breaker."

Q) Is it true you knew George Melly - what did you talk about / was he easy to get along with? "Yes, I knew George. Visited his house a coupled of times and he came to my studio...on his motorised bike. Found him charming and erudite. Apart from being a jazz singer etc, he was an authority on surrealism and had quite a collection. I was delighted he bought one of my pastels ('Doves on Fire' see below) . As far as I recall, we mostly talked about art."

Q) Do you see Art as a language, a means of communication? Why do you make art? "In my Byam Shaw days, Harry Thubron gave a very very short possibly inebriated lecture in which I only remember him saying “It’s all about Eye (I?), Life Force and Thing” I make art because I am almost compelled to translate my experiences into something visual. In the first instance, It’s a sort of spontaneous out pouring though then there is often a mountain to climb to create something fit to show to the public. I love seeing what is and am fascinated with the mysterious. In particular, I love re inventing child like expressiveness. It is a language, one in which I communicate with myself. Also, making art is a choice which for me is a perfect vehicle, beautifully accommodating, my efforts to manage and master the art of ‘letting go’. Yes its also a vocation and a hobby and I love it when others get pleasure from what I create.

Q)Do you have a favourite word or a favourite letter of the alphabet? "At the moment,my favourite letter in the alphabet is V. Though I have sometimes used eg AAA, GGG or KKK in my art."

Do you have an art hero? Who is your biggest inspiration? "Naturally Leonard de Vinci ranks high in more ways than one! ($450,000). I really love the now deceased Gugging outsider artist Oswald Tschirtner . “How are you Oswald?”, I asked him, and his invariable reply was “ Happy in God”.

Of course, School of Paris artists are also my cup of tea, as are many, many others."

Q) What's your favourite Stanley Kubrick film? "Stanley Kubricks daughter was in my class at Byam Shaw, as far as I remember? I love science fiction cf my paintings eg The Origin of UFOs . I liked Kubricks 2001: A space Odyssey and also AI: Artificial Intelligence which was ultimately made by Spielberg."

You can find out more about Moich and see more of his work by visiting: here

Jo Mama's Alphabet Show is open to the public during the first two weekends of October 12 till 6pm