Sarah Lucas: SITUATION, Whitechapel Gallery

The works of Sarah Lucas may be more relevant today than ever before. Disturbing yet playful, her works never fail to capture attention. Opening on October 2, her new retrospective solo show Sarah Lucas: SITUATION will be unveiled at the Whitechapel Gallery in the heart of East London, and will be one of the most anticipated shows this autumn with a collection of her earliest and most recent works.

Lucas rose to fame in the 1990s as one of the Young British Artists and has been associated with names such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. Alongside the other YBA’s she pioneered the London contemporary art scene, giving Britain a place on the international market.

Sexuality, tensions between femininity and masculinity, and in particular the cultural climate of today’s tabloid misogyny (which seems to have escalated recently) are all principle themes of her work. She has been compared to Emin due to this similarity and because they were former business partners, setting up The Shop in Bethnal Green to market their own work. Yet in recent years Lucas has rejected this comparison, calling Emin’s work ‘cheap’. Perhaps because Lucas feels her work is a critique of the themes around sexuality rather than reaffirmation of preconceived ideas of gender distinction.

SITUATION will include a range of photography and sculpture, dating from the 90s to now. As well as some of her most iconic pieces such as Au Naturel, a mattress adorned with phallically assorted fruit, her more recent confrontational sculptures NUDS will also be displayed for the first time.

Expect the exhibition to be erotic, unsettling and humorous. Curated by the great Iwona Blazwick, who worked previously with the ICA and Tate and is responsible for giving Whitechapel Gallery its status, along with Lucas herself, this show will definitely be the talk of the season.

You can also visit the Louis Vuitton store  on New Bond street - Louis Vuitton is one of the sponsors of the Whitechapel gallery's exhibition. A special corner has been curated by Sarah Lucas and brings a great insight to the artist's work.

A note of caution, this exhibition is definitely not recommended for children.

FREE