If you hadn’t noticed, we’re partial to the odd drink here at Esquire. And, how better to enjoy a drink or two, than with a few works of art ? Praise then, for the latest exhibition to grace London’s University of the Arts, “Sroop Sunar: The Golden Glassy”, a pictorial history of the British pub sign.
Sunar’s first solo show, Golden Glassy loosely translates from Anglo-Indian into, rather cleverly, “a glass of whiskey”. The exhibition features a range of Sunar’s traditionally printed signs, all of which hang at right angles, mimicking their positioning outside Britain’s drinking holes.
Pulling on her Indian heritage for inspiration, the bold designs and bright colours resemble subcontinental food packages, paired with pub names such as the traditional ‘Red Lion’ to the more ironic ‘The Office’.
Whether seen as a witty reformulation of something oh-so very British, or a more serious comment on multicultural Britain, this exhibition makes us very thirsty indeed.
Words by Alex Tieghi-Walker
