Human Connection at Opera Gallery 14th – 28th Sept

A joint exhibition showcasing the works of British artist Nick Gentry (left) and Korean artist Seo Young-Deok who create figurative works from found objects. Nick Gentry sources discarded technological materials from members of the public such as CDs and floppy disks, and puts them back in the limelight by using them as the canvas for his paintings. Seo Young-Deok constructs hyper-realistic sculptures from iron bicycle chains, highlighting the material that has been critical to the development of the modern world and Korea’s manufacturing industry.

Black Mirror at Saatchi Gallery 28 Sept – 13 Jan

Saatchi Gallery’s blockbuster Autumn/Winter exhibtion features the work of 26 of the world’s most exciting artists exploring art’s role in social satire and the world we live in. Works vary from the personal to the political, including Bedwyr Williams’ humorous take on the old adage “Walk a Mile in My Shoes”, where he literally gets visitors to try on size 13 shoes, Turner Prize nominee Richard Billingham’s confrontational photography of his working class parents in his Ray’s A Laugh Series, and Jessica Craig-Martin’s voyeuristic and candid close-up photographs of high society hedonism (left).

Bejewelled at Museum of Freemasonry 20 Sept 2018 – 24 Sept 2019

The Museum of Freemasonry in Covent Garden will host the first major exhibition of masonic jewels in the UK this September, with over 150 jewels from around the world including the UK, India, Zambia, Chile and beyond. These specially handcrafted jewels are worn or carried by freemasons to signify what lodge they belong to, their profession and to mark significant events. The exhibition includes jewels from 18^th century to today such as:

Edward VII’s jewel celebrating Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, secretly crafted jewels made from scrap metal by prisoners of war held in Singapore in World War 2, and the Author’s Lodge jewel, worn by members which included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling.

GLAD I DID IT by Christina Reihill at Bermondsey Art Space

This November, installation artist Christina Reihill will recreate the prison cell of Ruth Ellis, the last woman in Britain to be executed by the state, after she shot her abusive lover, 25-year-old racing driver David Blakely in 1955. Glad I Did It will be an artist’s interpretation of Ruth Ellis’ cell, imagined moments after her hanging, informed by a close reading of the psychiatric notes, prison files and diaries. Reihill will be shedding new light on the woman whose trial divided a nation, as she infamously declared in court “I intended to kill him”. Playing the victim would have spared her life, instead by admitting her intent she was finally given a platform and a voice, but was ultimately led by her thwarted desire to join him in death. Recalling the darkness of her own addiction to drugs and alcohol, artist Reihill prompts visitors to question how their own ambition, desire, loss and grief impacts our lives and asks the question: “how dissimilar are we all from Ruth Ellis really?”