Diamond Stingily: May 29 | Cabinet
I wanted to visit this exhibition after reading an appreciative review. The artist collected some objects that, together, apparently reflect banality and ennui. (The title of the show, which is the date in which it opened, is similarly, deliberately, banal.)
I’ve read that the show centres around a bus stop and bench. Onto these objects, the artist has transferred images of boarded up and derelict buildings. The reviewer who’s actually been to the show says it’s “a familiar sign of economic decline, both managed and unforeseen”.
I’ll take their word for it, because when I visited the gallery over the weekend, it was shut. No answer when I rang the doorbell; the room inside was empty and dark. Just like a boarded-up building.
It was the final day of probably the last heatwave of the summer; the air was humid. It had been a disappointing day, somehow: the Victoria line was sweaty, and patches of dirt were showing in the dry grass of the park next to the gallery. I had a mild stomach ache.
So, I’m sure the show was good. But it was disappointing too. That it was shut off and closed down matched the mood. It fit my week. So I wrote about it.
Diamond Stingily: May 29 is at Cabinet (London). May 29 - September 06 2025