Local museums can only dream of the audience appeal achieved by artist Linett Kamala’s exhibition Disya Dancehall. Kamala has taken over the defunct Cod’s Plaice fish and chip shop opposite Kilburn station in north London and hung it with her paintings of the area’s 00s dancehall queens. Tight lace, designer labels, serious bling, deadly nails: this was dressing to impress as a performance art.
Cod’s Plaice has been reimagined as a Jamaican takeaway, complete with cafe tables. On the day it opened, it smelt deliciously of warming patties. People drifted in from the street to buy food and paintings (neither were for sale) then stayed to listen to an audio work blending dancehall sounds with interviews from the scene.
