Whose Laughing Now TC margate

 ‘Whose laughing Now’ aka Brexit Bags Artist Magz Hall @radio_mind

Laughing sacks are uncanny items sold in jokeshops in seaside towns like Margate and across the UK. For me they were the perfect small audio device to subvert and reinvent, as kind of playful homage and to the ongoing pain that is Brexit. The Lachsack (“Laugh in a Bag”) was invented by German Walter Thiele (born 1921) his first version was made from a sock as a joke, he subsequently made millions selling them. The original ones unlike the synthetic ones today were made of Jute sacks. My Brexit Bags are made from ethically sourced flax sacks handmade for me by fellow artist and flax grower Vicky Putler. I imagined them as the perfect way to share portable voxpops. When squeezed they ask the question deal or no deal and emit an insane cackle by the artist. This sound work is fully activated when multiple bags are squeezed at once, and is highly therapeutic.

Whose Laughing Now

Over 10 years on from Turner Contemporary’s first Open, and in celebration of the gallery’s 10^th anniversary, Turner Contemporary is pleased to present The Turner Contemporary Open.

This ambitious exhibition will celebrate and showcase the wealth of artistic talent in Kent and Medway. It will include works by both professional and non-professional artists living and working in the area and those working nationally and internationally who studied there.

Opening on 23 October 2021 and spanning Turner Contemporary’s first floor galleries, the exhibition will include approximately 450 works, selected from over 4,200 anonymised submissions received from nearly 1,400 artists.

Artworks span sculpture, painting, ceramics, film and photography, including work by internationally renowned artists.

The works have been selected by four Thanet-based community groups and collectives: Age UK Thanet, Canvas 4 Equality, Margate Pride and the Turner Contemporary Access Group. These groups have volunteered their time as curators with the support of Turner Contemporary. Each group has taken over a gallery space, in which they have curated their selection of artworks.

Since opening in April 2011, Turner Contemporary has established itself as a locally embedded, nationally significant art gallery connecting art, people and place. As well as drawing national and international artists to work, collaborate and exhibit in the town, a key part of the gallery’s mission is to champion creativity in Margate and Kent. The Turner Contemporary Open demonstrates this commitment and continues the gallery’s pioneering work in community curation.

Exhibition runs from Oct 23rd until Sunday 20 February 2021.