Exhibitions1998The Stuff Show

The Stuff Show, at the South London Gallery, was Gavin Turk’s first comprehensive solo exhibition in the UK since 1994. The show featured new works, including some waxwork pieces. Working with images and ideas linked to the streetscape, Turk used ephemera like liquor, exhaust fumes and graffiti as starting points for his reading of urban culture. Turk's works are finely made, modelled and cast. They include beautifully detailed drawings of rubbish or reliefs made of broken eggshells.

For an exhibition of contemporary art to make a point beyond the evident one of the display of artworks, it must capture its moment and establish a relevance to a wider world. Turk was already well known as one of the Young British Artists but, as Sensation showed, the Young British Artists were one part of a larger development with strong individuals emerging from it; The Stuff Show demonstrated that Gavin Turk was one of these individuals.