Bicycle Bespoke

A Celebration of the Creative Cycle

June 13th – August 23rd 2009

northandsouthideasgallery thinks that cycling, in itself, is a great idea. With this in mind, we are pleased to present ‘Bicycle Bespoke: A Celebration of the Creative Cycle.’ The fourth exhibition at our new ideas gallery based in Highgate, ‘Bicycle Bespoke’ sets out to encourage Londoners to celebrate and reinvigorate their relationship with the bicycle. At the heart of this celebration also lies a creative declaration that it is never too late to reinvent your wheels; from saddle chairs to cycle friendly tuxedos and a ‘London-proof’ bike, within the classic model of the bicycle there lies a perfect opportunity for an imaginative and innovative release.

Such an exhibition could not be more timely: high street labels are just now recognising the demand for ‘cycle chic’; boutique bike shops are popping up all over London; and in essence, being on a bicycle has never been so in vogue.

The exhibition itself brings together numerous creative practitioners and two educational projects, concurrently launching our curatorial philosophy of inter-inspiration and creative engagement between cross-disciplinary ideas-based practices. Max Knight’s Walking Bike, a uniform bike frame on wholly un-uniform ‘feet wheels’ provided the point of origin for ‘Bicycle Bespoke’. Not only acknowledging childhood memories of freedom and playfulness that bicycles can often evoke, the piece also points to the connection between human and bike that this exhibition is keen to explore. Also on display is the jewelry from up and coming design house Eclectic Eccentricity, who have taken inspiration from the iconic Penny Farthing model to produce a beautiful range of cycle-inspired necklaces. Functional forms are ever present too, with chairs and light fittings by Designer Lula Dot and Industrial Designer Ben Hughes exemplifying the resources a bike can provide after its life as mode of transport may have ended. Additionally, in an amalgamation of both form and function, Karta Healy, the designer behind bike company TWO n FRO, exhibits his latest range of bike friendly fashions, including waterproof tuxedos and gowns.

Utility is equally imperative when considering city cycling, and in this vein, we will be displaying both in the Gallery space and around the local community, Front Yard Company’s PlantLocksâ. These aesthetically pleasing and natural alternatives to common bike posts, designed by Duncan Kramer and Dan Monck are particularly relevant for the Highgate Village community, which currently lacks safe and accessible bike parking facilities.

For this exhibition we have also run two projects in conjunction with local educational institutions. A Year Six student at Haringey’s Nightingale Primary School has refurbished a dilapidated child’s bike as part of an ongoing Mentor programme at the school, while students from the Industrial Design MA at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design were given a brief to make better [as brilliant, amazing, magical, fantastical, odd, culturally relevant, or head-turning as they choose] a malnourished bicycle, with the only clause being that it still has to be London road worthy.

Opening in conjunction with national Bike Week and running through the summer months, we hope to get everyone on their bikes and peddling up to our Gallery in Highgate Village and enjoying the benefits of the adjacent Heath.