Artwork
A Fall of Ordinariness and Light: The Justification
A Fall of Ordinariness and Light: The Justification is a drawing by Jessie Brennan. It dates from 2014 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Jessie Brennan’s 2014 graphite drawings respond to Robin Hood Gardens, a 1960s London housing estate soon to be demolished.
Jessie Brennan’s 2014 graphite drawings respond to Robin Hood Gardens, a 1960s London housing estate soon to be demolished. Each piece uses a term from the 2013 demolition order as its title. Brennan plays with fact and imagination, focusing on how the demolition feels rather than how it looks.
The drawings mix sharp technique with ideas about power and loss. They sit in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection.
Check out more by the artist Brennan, Jessie.
Overview
A Fall of Ordinariness and Light is a 2014 series of four graphite drawings by Jessie Brennan, responding to the impending demolition of Robin Hood Gardens, a 1966-72 London housing estate designed by Alison and Peter Smithson.
Subject & Meaning
The series critiques the demolition process through titles derived from the 2013 Compulsory Purchase Order (e.g., The Justification). Brennan's work highlights sites of societal contradiction, where residents face circumstances beyond their control, emphasizing the human impact of urban renewal.
Technique & Style
Brennan employs highly detailed graphite rendering, blending precision with 'playful processes' that blur fact and imagination. The meticulous technique evokes vanitas and memento mori traditions, imparting an elegiac tone to the depiction of demolition's physical and emotional toll.
History & Provenance
Created in 2014 as Robin Hood Gardens faced demolition (commenced 2015), the series is now part of the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jessie Brennan’s 2014 drawings trace everyday scenes in a housing estate where light and ordinariness mix.
