Friday 27 September 2019

Inside the Palace of Colour:Dulwich Pavilion 2019.

"A colour palace, monumental in scale and delicate in construction. A palace of images; a lantern balancing on elephant's feet; four men carrying a roof bought at a market; a grain store raised on straddle stones; a theatre; a masquerade; the folds of hanging fabric in a Lagos market; the gateway to a paradise garden".


In terms of writing a review of Dulwich Picture Gallery's 2019 pavilion, one of several that appear to have sprung up around the city in response to the Serpentine's annual creation, it appears that the architectural pairing of Pricegore X Yinka Ilori have done the heavy lifting for me. On entering the grounds of the gallery you're confronted with a hulking, but extraordinarily colourful, box hoisted aloft on four overweight red piloti that you can look at, take photos of, climb stairs up into, and that's about it.

It looks lovely but it serves no purpose. Even the Jude's ice cream counter (pistachio, mango sorbert, and my favourite mint choc chip all available) was closed and the bar taps were covered up. The tables sat empty. I'd probably have been better off visiting in the height of summer when I'd like to imagine hoards of art pilgrims relaxing with ice cream, coffees, and beers as their kids run around in the sunshine.



It would definitely have worked better then. Instead I climbed the stairs of what looked, from the inside, like a gaily coloured building site, walked round, came back down again, had a look at an architectural model in a vitrine box, went for a piss and, so as not to waste my journey, went to Pizza Express before walking home through the rather lovely Dulwich Park.

That's not to say that The Colour Palace, to give it its proper name, is crap. It's anything but. It's rather lovely. Spaces like this, and Kensington Gardens and elsewhere are improved by colourful temporary buildings and bizarre mastabas, they bring a smile to our faces, give us something to talk about, somewhere to go and visit.





But I went on my own on a grey and overcast day so I had nobody to talk to about the pavilion and it wasn't even good enough weather to sit on the grass nearby and read. So I just appreciated it for what it was, imagined how much better it would be with company or in summer, and moved on. I like my own company but too much of my life is spent experiencing things and not enough spent sharing them. I felt a little bit sad.




But I also felt a little bit happy. I was pleased I'd got off my arse and gone for a walk, gone to look at something. I realised I was lucky to live in a city that was overflowing with art and other distractions and to live in a city that was blessed with such beautiful green spaces. I appreciated things could be a lot worse. There probably won't be another pavilion outside the Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2021. I hope I'm still around to visit it - and I hope somebody will come with me.




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