Kato and Stoneman present Underbelly (LDN Installation)

  • March 19, 2011
 

UPDATE: Due to popular demand and mass media loving their work, the Underbelly exhibition has been extended until the 22nd of May. It will also be open late Thursday 5th of May as part Time Out First Thursday. Get down.

Opening this Friday, 25th of March, not a lot’s known about Underbelly, the collaborative installation between Chairman Kato and animator Chris Stoneman. They’ve made no apologies about keeping the specifics tight, though I did by chance end up at Tea Smith last week, the unique and expert tea bar that sits on the ground floor, above where Underbelly will be held.
 
Located on the corner of Spitalfield markets, Tea Smith is a brilliant discovery for anyone going in for the first time. As the name suggests, the proprietors possess a masterful understanding of tea from around the world and present it in a beautifully artistic and serene atmosphere. Everything for the layout and character within Tea Smith is custom made, sitting in it’s ideal place that it was made for. In his last three years in London, Kato has been a regular fixture at least a few times a week within the shop.
 
In case you’re wondering, Tea Smith is relevant to the installation in more than location. What we do know about the mysterious Underbelly project is that it’s been done as a ‘reaction to and a reaction against’ the order and establishment of the tea shop.
 
It’s a first for both the musician and the animator, as well as the Tea Shop above it, who’ve never housed anything but storage in their basement before. Kato and Stoneman have built their creation within a virgin space from scratch, and though they’re keeping the details close to their chest, we trust for the delivery of something chaotically stunning. Get down for opening night.
 
 

via Kato and Stoneman
Underbelly is the collaborative debut of electronic musician Chairman Kato and spacial animator Chris Stoneman. A site-specific installation in the heart of Spitalfields, it is both a reaction to and a reaction against the teahouse under which it lives.

Their individual practices of music and animation lent themselves to natural combination, but the pair were keen to create a unique and immersive experience for their audience. The inspiration revealed itself naturally through hours spent at the counter of Teasmith, discussing shared passions of music and science fiction with the shop’s owner. The pair set about building a structure inspired by the notion of taking those subtle underlying themes and turning them inside out, creating the warped, dark heart of a luxury teahouse in the middle of gentrified East London.

With the basement completely customised, Kato composed a piece of music that was both intensely personal and relevant to his surroundings. ‘Scar Clearance’ consists of three sections, each derived from the preceding passage. Through judicious use of editing, pitchshifting and tempo change, Scar Clearance’s sections evolve into each other, taking us on a chaotic journey.

Chris’ work looks at the slip between discipline, object and environment through projection and the moving image. He responded by making a sculptural, experiential piece of animation that compliments the twists and turns of Kato’s music. Chris is interested in extending beyond what is often a screen based medium to notions of engagement with sculpture, participation and the outcome of illusion.

As you descend the stairs into the basement and enter Underbelly, the artists ask us to set aside our preconceptions and engage with the feel, the sights and the sounds. Stemming from the belief that art is what we make of it, they leave us to explore the foreboding shadows and noise that await us.

Underbelly by Kato and Stoneman
From Friday 25th March to Sunday 24th April
11am til 6 pm, 7 days a week

Free Entry.

At Teasmith,
6 Lamb Street
London
E1 6EA

**Opening night on Friday 25th March, 7pm onwards. Come and experience the installation for
the first time, all are welcome.**

For more information contact katoandstoneman [at] gmail.com