Pavement party with SKIP Gallery

But this has been the vista greeting inhabitants of Hoxton square for the past few weeks after artist Richard Woods revealed new work Upgrade. Commissioned by roving art space SKIP Gallery, and curated by co-founders Catherine Borowski and Lee Baker, for London Festival of Architecture, Richard abandoned a colourful mini holiday home in a roadside skip, a comment of the rapid gentrification of London and beyond.

Turns out we weren’t the only ones to marvel at this chipper artwork. As well as a buzzing launch that saw gallery-goers pack out the Hoxton parking space, plenty of publications championed Richard’s originality. London Evening Standard’s Homes & Property listed the show as one of its London design events not to miss in June, with Wallpaper* dubbing Upgrade as a ’surprising addition’ to the London landscape in its glowing preview. The Spaces praised Upgrade for ‘raising questions about gentrification and a building’s relationship to its site’, while designboom said it ‘invited visitors to reflect on the changes of the city’. 

Richard’s colourful statement also caught the attention of editor Rosh Thanki and design journalists David Michon, Cajsa Carlson and Alice Morby, who all showed the exhibition some love on Instagram. One of the more unexpected fans was Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker, who commented wistfully ‘The things people throw away… #houseclearance #skipgallery #modernartisrubbish’ after snapping the provocative piece.

But all good things must come to an end, and now SKIP Gallery has packed up and moved on. But never fear, if you missed Upgrade, you can get a feel for the show in the video below or even purchase a limited edition print by Richard commemorating the exhibition, produced in collaboration with Brighton’s The Private Press. SKIP Gallery is completely self-funded so as well as giving Richard’s home a home, you’ll be supporting future SKIP adventures.