Tuesday, April 12, 2016

The Beasts of England Launch Party Recap


Animal Farm 2.0
by Haylee Grey Pearson (Contributing Editor)

Now through May 8th at Union Market's Lab 1270 is the latest installation from No Kings Collective artist Brandon Hill. The Beasts of England is a modern, visual representation of George Orwell’s haunting novel, Animal Farm.

If you’re anything like me, you probably haven’t read Animal Farm since seventh grade. It’s the one with the allegory: Animal Farm represents the downside of Communism during the Russian Revolution. Artist Brandon Hill must have read more than the CliffsNotes, to so brilliantly capture the dissonance in the novel and translate the visual to three dimensional works of art.


Exuberant and bold are what first come to mind, when looking at the individual pieces; but upon further inspection, you find the deceptive undercurrent. Individually, the pieces are a representation of themes from the novel’s chapters that work together to represent the whole novel. Hill originally drew inspiration for this project from how the complexity of authority can be visually simplified.


For DC, the gallery game has been lacking. An absence of depth and intrigue seems to plague DC’s gallery scene. We have some of the most prestigious art in the world at the Smithsonian, which should not be minimized. The Rembrandts and Monets have been seen, challenged and analyzed. DC art lovers require demand more.


The concept and execution of Beasts of England is smart. This is going to be the start of something big, that will pave a long road of perspective art galleries in DC.


Stop by Lab 1270 (now through May 8th) for the perfect spot to spend an afternoon post-Union Market sampling. Click here for directions.