Gay bar mile end london

Words: Joe Bobowicz 22nd January One such patron was Prem Sahiba Southall-raised artist of Indian-Polish descent, who has just opened an exhibition in Southwest London at Studio Voltaire, Documents of a recent past. Living close to The Backstreet during the s, Prem was always curious about the club. Eventually, Prem took the plunge.

I realised it was actually really friendly. By the time came around, Prem was hearing whispers of neighbourhood development. Given his own artistic practice has long focused on memorialising queer sex spaces, Prem began photographing The Backstreet in the daytime, alongside fine art photographer Mark Blower.

The Old Ship

We Doin gallery spaces, making this ode to The Backstreet a fitting chapter in their work. The photographs in Documents of a recent past — some survey-style, some close-up and abstract — unfold in a slideshow of time-worn leather pageant posters, HIV pamphlets, ghillie nets and antique steel body cages appear, as the audience watches from authentic Backstreet leather stools.

There are charming details to the show, too, such as a film of dust lining equestrian boots or elegantly hung bondage. Even a bottle of Dettol by the till and drink mixers take on a sentimental quality, evoking forgotten encounters as well as idle bar chat. At regular intervals, full-screen blocks of colour punctuate the imagery, taken from moments where Prem has zoomed in to the extreme, giving the installation an affective jolt.

Here, a black screen flicks between some plus footnotes selected and edited by Prem, while a covert audio recording from inside Club Heros in plays through headphones. The footnotes include cited quotations, mundane or highly personal diaristic entries from Prem, and even old excerpts from a blog attempting to counter the proposed local gay.

In this way, Prem sees places like The Backstreet as a way of reorienting queer bodies. At one point, they mention a visit to a formal attire fetish night called Gentlemen. It must have come from the langar [a community kitchen] at the gurdwara. That Prem draws all of this from one hallowed mile haunt is a testament to bar MO: by homing in on niche, london sites of queer subculture, richer discoveries emerge.

Documents of a recent past is showing at Studio Voltaire until 15 th March. Straight to your inbox. Culture Words: Joe Bobowicz 22nd January end Yes, another newsletter is all I need Sign me up. More like this.