Lazarides Gallery is pleased to present A Nightmare on Greek Street, a new series of work by Ben Turnbull. In his last show at Lazarides, Turnbull asked for ‘A TIME FOR CHANGE’.

25 July – 22 August 2008

Turnbull takes our notion of what we’re led to believe and destroys it. ‘Who ya gonna call?’ (as illustrated above right) is a huge container in the shape of 911 holding hundreds of mini super heroes.

That time has now passed and he is still angered, frustrated and concerned by what has caused such a level of civil unrest. With his new show, Turnbull has felt compelled to open peoples' eyes to the horrors that creep outside bedroom doors by creating a pop-meets-Hammer Horror sci-fi nasty. Turnbull has created a body of work that is a call to action - shocking and interactive. Using found objects, toy props and Americana, he has constructed a world of nightmares that begs us to get involved, to come out from behind the safety of the sofa and play with the work. Turnbull uses old-fashioned mould-making techniques, hand carved woodwork and a hunter-gatherer's approach in hoarding vast quantities of beloved children’s toys for a concept that ultimately wants to reach out and re-teach what’s been forgotten.

Turnbull takes our notion of what we’re led to believe and destroys it. ‘Who ya gonna call?’ (as illustrated above right) is a huge container in the shape of 911 holding hundreds of mini super heroes. They are the debris, the ash and dust representing the death of hope. Captain America, the most potent U.S propaganda tool, literally takes matters into his own hands in a human-sized work entitled ‘Bring me the head of Saddam Hussein’ (as illustrated above left). In ‘Home Blown’, Turnbull takes a 1960s homestead classic, the flying ducks, and creates an ascending row of bombs which we’re invited to detonate. In ‘Land of the Freeze’, the exponent of the "War on Terror", George W Bush, stands frozen in carbonite as a prize trophy for the bounty hunter. In ‘Breeding Terrorism’, babies in Guantanamo suits rock in a cot while mobile passenger planes hover ominously above. This is their future, the children of a new age.

This new exhibition reveals works that draw on Turnbull's interest in the world's violent, paranoid side; school shootings, death by underground, bio chemical attacks, executions. Linking current events with recognisable pop cultural references he welcomes you to the dark side - Apocalypse Now. In 2007 Turnbull had a solo show at Lazarides Gallery entitled U.S. Vs Them, in which toys that stood as a cipher for the disposability of the public were a major feature of the works. Pieces in that show were a route through to this new body of work that comments on the acts of horror committed every hour of each passing day. Turnbull was born, lives and works in London.

Visitor Information

Lazarides Gallery 8 Greek Street
Soho, London
W1D 4DG

Hours: Tues-Sat 11am-7pm
Admission: Free