MARY CONWAY applauds the revival of a tense, and extremely funny, study of men, money and playing cards
Reimagining the unimaginable
Artist JOHN MARC ALLEN talks to Andy Hedgecock about his exhibition inspired by Dr Strangelove and the Atomic Age
(L to R) Burning Globe of Obscene Fire, Like Electric Funeral Pyre, 2022; I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire, 2022
MEHDI ACHOUCHE explores the constant fascination of cinema with Marxist alienation from Fritz Lang and Chaplin to Bong Joon Ho
FIONA O’CONNOR steps warily through a novel that skewers many of the exposed flanks of the over-privileged
MARY CONWAY applauds the study of a dysfunctional family set in an Ireland that could be anywhere
MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
“THE race to find bigger and better ways to destroy each other is a terrifying prospect, one which has never left the public consciousness for 70 years,” says artist John Marc Allen.
Currently running at Blackpool’s Hive, How I Learned to Stop Worrying is Allen’s enlightening and provocative exhibition on the human capacity for planetary destruction and the mass psychology underpinning it.
Nuclear conflict invaded Allen’s thinking at the age of 10, in the form of Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Two Tribes. The nine-minute Annihilation Mix (1984) included lines from the government’s Protect and Survive campaign, such as: “If your grandmother or any other member of the family should die whilst in the shelter, put them outside, but remember to tag them first for identification purposes.
More from this author
MICHAL BONCZA recommends a compact volume that charts the art of propagating ideas across the 20th century
MICHAL BONCZA reviews Cairokee gig at the London Barbican
MICHAL BONCZA rounds up a series of images designed to inspire women
