Staycation
Noun INFORMAL
A holiday spent in one's home country rather than abroad, or one spent at home and involving day trips to local attractions.
The Smallest Gallery in Soho is delighted to present artist Jordan McKenzie’s work Staycation. Exploring the 'holiday at home', which has become increasingly popular since the pandemic and the recent holiday ‘chaos’ of travelling abroad. To go on a staycation is to suspend your belief in order to experience the familiar as an adventurous surprise. This othering of the environment offers the holiday maker the chance to explore their environment anew. The (often depressing) reality of staying at home, exacerbated by the cost of living crisis, is realigned to the holiday spirit and stiff upper lipped "Britishness", as we celebrate our tenacity to carry on enjoying ourselves in order to 'make the best of it'.
Placed upon warehouse shelving in front of an ‘exotic’ tropical landscape are discarded bottles of alcohol that have been collected by Jordan McKenzie from the streets, parks and alley-ways of the East London housing estate where the artist lives. Each of the bottles are filled with coloured sand, alluding to the British tradition of creating a souvenir by filling bottles with sand from a seaside resort that has been visited while holidaying. The coloured bottles also reference the surge in crafting that became increasingly popular during the pandemic.
Staycation invites you to ‘get away from it all’ in the heart of Soho, a popular tourist destination famed for its nightlife and culture, a space of celebration and drinking that became even more popular when its streets became outdoor bars between and after the lockdowns.
About the Artist:
Jordan McKenzie is a performance maker/visual artist and academic based in London. Research interests include queerness and identity, presentations of class in contemporary Britain and the intersections of social housing, arts practices and socially situated art. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally in galleries, festivals and arts centres including Freud Museum (2018); Yorkshire Sculpture Park (2014); KASA Gallery, Istanbul (2014); Arnolfini Gallery (2011); Courtauld Institute (2011). His curatorial projects include LUPA (Lock Up Performance Art) a performance space run from a disused garage on the council estate where he lives in East London (2011-13); Look At The (E)state We're In, a major international conference about art and the council estate (2014); Live(E)lseWhere (co-curated with The Drawing Shed 2014).
He has received major arts bursaries and awards from Arts Council England, Arts Admin and The Live Art Development Agency and been an artist in residence in numerous countries including I-Park Massachusetts, USA (2012), OVADA Gallery, Oxford (2005) and Sutra Arts, Nepal (2004).
He is currently a lecturer at The University for the Arts, London.
jordanmckenzie.co.uk
Instagram: @jordan.e.mckenzie
About supporters Contrado:
The printing was supported by Contrado who help independent artists build their brands and tell stories with premium products. On learning about The Smallest Gallery in Soho’s new display it became a perfect partnership to collaborate on.
Contrado creates high-quality products for artists and designers worldwide. Their goal is simple: by creating the widest range of sustainably made, hand-crafted products in their London factory, they want to help every artist build their brand and tell stories with products they’re passionate about. Whether you’re interested in opening your own store, drop shipping, wholesaler discounts, or are simply looking for the perfect unique piece for your home – Contrado is the partner that can get you there.
