At the age of 31 I’m learning to drive. To be honest, I’m finding the whole thing an ordeal. After spending all of my years on this earth gazing idly out of bus windows, I now have to be completely aware of the world around me whilst travelling. The natural romantic in me is very disgruntled.
So, on the 9th of February I headed down to Abingdon Studios to shift gears and feed my mind some dreamy aesthetics from Will Hughes, co-founder of Unit 4 Studios in Middlesbrough. Their work focuses upon lived experiences and the latest installation at Blackpool’s contemporary visual art studio highlights aspects of their personal history.
As I entered the space the first thing to catch my eye was a steering wheel hung from the ceiling by a metal chain. The piece, a collaboration between artists Will Hughes and Darren Neave, was adorned in mirror tiles. Each tile caught the small amount of light available in the scarcely lit room and spread it like glitter across the walls and floor. Affixed to the back wall of the studio were two car window mirrors which during my time in the space shifted robotically. These mirrors, working in tandem with those on the tiled steering wheel allowed the room to find different positions and gave a sense of movement to the static walls.
Each one of Hughes’s pieces is titled from lyrics related to driving. On a permanently ‘steamed up’ window on the right hand side of the studio you can make the faint lettering of words from Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You out of My Head as if a person has traced the ear worm, riding a wave of 2001 nostalgia whilst waiting for the lights to turn green.
There are other steering wheels in the space too. One wearing bright pink flock, one dressed in curb chain and another corseted in pleather and finished with delicate cream ribbon. These steering wheel casts come from the same model of Hughes’s first car, a 1990 Rover mini which they shared with their twin brother Richard. This installation didn’t feel like neutral shared space though – gone were the comes-as-standard interiors. Instead, the installation made reproduction line fittings sexy, glamourous and performative.
Hughes’s installation gave me hope for my driving future and reminded me that owning a car can offer a different kind of ‘you time’. Instead of quiet reflection on public transport, in your car you can turn up the radio and be the star of your own music video. Hughes has me fantasising about being in the driving seat.
Will Hughes exhibition is open by appointment until the 11th of March 2023. To book a viewing please contact [email protected] or on Instagram at @abingdonstudios_projectspace.
To see more from Hughes please visit www.willhughesart.com or find them on Instagram at @will_hughes_art_
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