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I am bitter that the Red Gate Gallery is celebrating its 10 year anniversary next month (on the 10th of the 10th - with a gay male poet, gay male artist, and gay girl band, incidentally) and I only stumbled upon it a couple of months ago. Last night was the private view for their new street art exhibition "Street Expression" which is showing until 2nd October. This exhibition's subject matter didn't really excite me in advance, but then I am rather taken with their quaint cobbled path, twinkling fairy lights, and little Friday night cocktail bar, not to mention the really great gallery space and frequent, interesting art shows. I was surprised by being quite impressed. The exhibition was quite eclectic though I was rather sorry my favourite piece cost £1800... Had it been a little cheaper, I might have been tempted! The picture that intrigued us most was this one:

We couldn't decide whether the wording is offensive or ironic, so we called the artist over to discuss it. He explained that he liked robots and liked to dress up, and therefore simply thought that drawing a feminine robot was fun. It had clearly not occurred to him that the wording might be offensive. We wondered: can something be ironic without the artist meaning it? Or should we be offended when no offence was meant... Interesting.

Thankfully before I could pontificate further, the bar served up another G&T.

The gallery also put on a fashion show of clothing with the theme of street art, with locals doing the modelling. Quite an impressive display. And appreciated by the arty crowd, who seemed to be a mix of locals and north of the river people.

There is something about the Red Gate Gallery's private views that makes you feel it is really an occasion. It's one of my favourite things about Camberwell at the moment, even if it does perch precariously on the border with Loughborough Junction.