I went to an art exhibition yesterday. I knew it might be tough. It was about the Grenfell tower fire. 71 people died in an entirely avoidable inferno. One of the victims and 4 of his family members died together in their burning home. He worked for twenty years in the same place never missing a day’s work until he did.

I also worked there briefly, we would not have known each other but would most likely have crossed paths and I knew some of his colleagues well.In a workplace that deals with death of all sorts on a daily basis. It can have an extra piquancy when a colleague is involved.

The tower block was also on our regular route from the South West to London. The first time I saw the charred hulk was a week or so after the fire, at dawn. I was on a trivial trip to deliver a piece of art to a London gallery. The theme of the exhibition was homelessness. Always a big subject in London, it was a huge thing, that summer, as the survivors of the fire were found short term, and then long term accomodation. The worst of reasons to make an art exhibition topical.

Years later I made a promise to myself to listen to as much of the Grenfell Enquiry as possible. It was not an easy listen.

So I was prepared that a film made by a great contemporary British artist, Steve MQueen would be an uncomfortable watch.

24 minute’s of exquisitely filmed footage of West London. Pastoral to brutal, detail and sensation picked out by the eye of a brilliantly creative and sensitive artist.

My heart and soul hurt and continued to do so long after the film itself finished.

Again far better reviewers than me have seen this film.

Source: The Guardian https://share.google/t49veMRyYMxLbXwbr

I don’t believe I have ever seen such a brilliant piece of film making. The film will be at The Box, Plymouth until the end of February.