Beatriz Lopez welcoming visitors to the ICA!
exhibition view
Richard Battye at the bar
Deborah Castillo's 'South American Cleaner' White Cubicle Installation
Prince Nelly's Retro Countdown
Liliana and Pablo
David Waddington and Claire Bishop's Raffle
Jens Hoffmann's Guacamole
Richard's parents and Richard preparing Liliana's birthday party
Mariachis
Lucas Sampellegrini and Johnny Woo
Madamme Diane Pernet
Jason Rhoades, Liliana Sanguino and Sebastian Ramirez
Sunday finale, Back to the George on the doubledecker
George and Dragon at ICA
London in Six Weeks
ICA, London
Richard Battye, Gregor Muir, Pablo Leon de la Barra, Liliana Sanguino, Beatriz Lopez, Nuno Antunes, Kerie Anne and the George and Dragon Staff are happy to invite you to the exhibition:
George and Dragon Public House at ICA
from Tuesday, September 20 to Sunday, September 25, 2005, 12:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Opening Night: Tuesday, September 20, 2005, 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
ICA, The Mall, London SW1
Once upon a time, on a Friday 13th back in December 2002, in the midst of the
coldest most obdurate winter to have afflicted London in forty or maybe seventy
years, there appeared a small glowing light at the Shoreditch end of Hackney
Road. Drawing closer, shivering but inquisitive passers-by discovered that these
lights were not Christmas decorations, but the tawdry decor of a newly reopened
pub. The George and Dragon's sumptuously low-budget interior - a hospice for
kitsch ephemera - beckoned them inside. This eclectic grotto was complemented
by an equally disparate clientele that seemed to catalysed a new mood in
Shoreditch. Within moments it was clear that the George and Dragon public house
promised an intoxicating polysexual future for a community of locals fatigued with
Old Street's metamorphosis into a meat-market for Ben Sherman-clad lads on the
pull.
The George and Dragon is uniquely a provincial public house in the inner city,
albeit one with an exuberant fiesta feel courtesy of its predominantly Latin-
American bar staff. Under the visionary fervour of landlord Richard Battye, the
George and Dragon has won the hearts and livers of London's fashion and art
bohemia, passing international art visitors, and a morass of sweaty queens, trannies
and bears. Great amount of the magic resides in George and Dragon's soundtrack,
a compelling roster of Djs programmed by Richard Battye, the most conceptual of
which is Prince Nelly, whose Retro Chart Rundown comprises every top 40 single
from a given week in the 80s played in meticulous order, accompanied by an
informative commentary. Through events such as Nelly's Countdown, the George
and Dragon pays homage to the decade that most shaped the souls and psyches of
its clientele, side-stepping cheap spectacle such as SchoolDisco.com for a more
adult and therapeutic emotional release aroused by Bonnie Tyler.
In Richardette the curly-locked landlord, barman Pablo Leon de la Barra found a
willing collaborator for his experimental social programming. First there came
24/7's Guacamole Monday, in which selected friends and customers were invited
to bastardise Mexico's most popular canapé. Then came White Cubicle, also
known as WC3, a sporadic gallery event taking place in the ladies' loo. This
project unequivocally encouraged viewers to re-evaluate conventions of sociallyengaged
and site-specific art by bringing a roster of both established and unknown
artists into a location already heaving with established and unknown artists.
Nearly three years since the pub's inauguration, Richard Battye has achieved his
ambition of running an institution that functions as “something between a drop-in
centre, a rehab clinic and his teenage bedroom”. The George and Dragon is more
than just a place to consume stingy British shots of vodka during bad weather, it is
an anti-essentialist essential in our increasingly corporate capital.
Within the ICA exhibition space, elements and events that form part of the George and Dragon will be displayed and displaced: this is not a recreation of the George and Dragon, it is an abstraction and translation of that that defines the George and Dragon experience.
Please join us for the following events that might happen during the week:
Saturday 17 and all week:
6:00 PM to 11:00 PM at the George and Dragon 2 Hackney Road, London E2
White Cubicle Toilet Gallery presents the exhibition Federico Herrero, Institutional Tropical Critique, curated by Jens Hoffmann
And at ICA all week during exhibition times:
All week:
DJ’s as Live Musical Sculptures including among others The Lovely Jonjo, Mrs. Elin Andersen, The Sizzle Sisters, John and Andy The Straight Boys, The Thank You Boys, Johnny Woo, Lady D.I.E., Richard Mortimer, Spanky and Angie, Danilo, Hazel Robinson, Seb Patane, La Viuda and others.
Friends as Barmen and Barmaids
Tuesday 20:
Opening Night 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
B-Lo’s Coming Home Party which might include Clarita’s Tombola, David’s Copacabana and Total Strip of the Heart
Jens’ Guacamole
White Cubicle Toilet Gallery at ICA presenting the exhibition Deborah Castillo, South American Cleaner
Rocky our star carpenter on the musical decks
and Gregor Muir’s MC curator’s talk!
Wednesday 21:
4:00-7:00 PM Prince Nelly's Retro Chart Rundown
Thursday 22:
Radio Egypt Drag Rehearsals
and the arrival of Richard’s Parents and Monsiuer Robin Schulie
Friday 23:
Margaritas Friday
Liliana Sanguino’s Birthday including Nuno’s Décor and Kerie Anne’s Birthday Cakes
Saturday 24:
Lady D.I.E’s Jumble Sale
The Thank You Boys Creche
The Main Ones (maybe)
bring your records and be a DJ with Six Foot Stereo
Sunday 25:
Yorkshire Style Sunday Buffet
and Country Club
Grand Finale:
And to end the week on Sunday 25 at 7:30 PM board the Double Decker going to the original George and Dragon Public House at 2 Hackney Road and join us to celebrate the end of George and Dragon week and the closure of London in Six Easy Steps exhibition.
All this might happen plus special unannounced events, blackouts and non working toilets, just like in the real George!
George and Dragon at 2 Hackney Road will continue open as usual except on Tuesday 20 when we will be closed.
G+D Guacamole Cookbook specially customized by B-Lo available at ICA’s bookshop.
Posts
