Jack White, the former White Stripes frontman, has ventured into the visual arts with an exhibition at Damien Hirst's Newport Street Gallery in London. Titled "These Thoughts May Disappear," the show features collaborations with artists like Ai Weiwei and Damien Hirst himself, but ultimately falls flat as a display of artistic talent.
A Star-Studded but Hollow Affair
The exhibition includes customised amplifiers by Ai Weiwei and Hirst, but these contributions feel more like cynical gestures than genuine artistic expressions. Ai Weiwei's amplifier is adorned with the F-word in buttons, a contemptuous yet louche move that highlights the lack of creative spirit in White's own work. Hirst, meanwhile, contributes a rotting cow's head model and other tired tropes like a floating ping-pong ball and spin painting.
Art Rock Is Not Art
White's music with the White Stripes was undeniably art rock, with albums like "De Stijl" referencing Dutch modernism. However, as a visual artist, White is a nonstarter. His works pay tribute to American musical heritage through figures like "Ukulele Joe," but these pieces are glib and sterile, lacking the poetic homage they intend. His passion for the "Old, Weird America" is real—he once paid $300,000 for an Elvis Presley acetate—but the exhibition fails to unlock that heritage.
Retreading Well-Worn Ideas
White's attempts at originality are derivative. A pink tree on artificial lawn with deckchairs is a tired concept, echoing artists like Anselm Kiefer and Giuseppe Penone. His readymades and installations feel like the work of a 12-year-old who has just discovered contemporary art at Tate Modern. The closest he comes to genuine art is a series of customised wooden pallets, which faintly echo Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, but even these fail to inspire.
A Vacuum of Passion
The exhibition is filled with early De Stijl sofa designs, plasticky blobs, and electronic instruments for visitors to play through customised amplifiers. While this might create a riotous atmosphere, it cannot mask the vacuum of passion or purpose. The real puzzle is why Hirst, who created this superb free gallery, wastes it on such a show. He convinced Ed Sheeran he was the new Pollock and now gives White a stage to artistically die. Hirst's own early work, like the real rotting cow's head in a vitrine, was truly rock'n'roll. This show is not.
Jack White: These Thoughts May Disappear is at Newport Street Gallery, London until 13 September.
