Parasol Unit

Anyone who says the word ‘art’ and ‘gallery’ in the same sentence to me will know about my love for the Victoria Miro; happily, there’s an equally fine establishment next door; namely, the Parasol Unit. I went to see the stilling works of Persian painter Y Z Kami, which got a great write-​up in the Independent’s culture section.
The work he showed at the time was pretty diverse. The main space was given to these large scale frontal portraits of a range of people whose stories aren’t told, looking somber and silent, staring forward. Apparently some element of the painting style leaned towards Fayum portraits which accompanied mummuies to their graves, but I’ve never seen one, so I can neither confirm or deny the fact.
But knowing that information alone is quite strange, in that such a rich history contrasts with the story and context-​less people he has painted.
He has another set of collages, called Endless Prayers, a series of glued, brick-​shaped cut outs from religious tomes, set in dizzying, hypnotic circular patterns. A historically intriguing and sober experience.

Located right beside Victoria Miro, this is another relatively hidden gallery — but worth the effort to chase. It is quite a big not-​for-​profit space, with an excellent programme of international and British artists. Quite recently, a solo show of video work by Darren Almond was showing — when he was concurrently showing photography in the White Cube not too far away in Hoxton Square. His video 3-​panel pieces really shone in the ground floor space, while upstairs, there were also photographs. At the moment, they are currently showing Mona Hatoum. Definitely worth the trek to check out, while also taking in Victoria Miro next door.