Norman Road Goes Rogue
By Helen Murphy and Nick Pelling
If dear old Noel Coward were still alive and, by some very odd twist, he was the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he would doubtless introduce today’s budgets with his jaunty musical ode to pessimism, ‘there are bad times just around the corner and the outlook is absolutely vile.’ But, in St Leonards we are not so easily daunted. In fact, for Ray Gange the idea that we should all be cowed by prognostications of global doom is just so much Tory self-excusing twaddle. And so, Ray is going to open up his new Rogue Gallery at number 65 Norman Road, come hell or slight drizzle. It is, undoubtedly, a brave call.
Goodfellas by Ray Gange
For a man with a highly developed sense of humour, Gange seems deadly serious about this venture. He is aiming both to offer a showcase for local artists and bring in the best from outside. He says he has, “always toyed with the idea of opening a proper gallery” and just decided that “I need to do something to make me feel alive.” Perhaps the sense that this may be a highly risky time to bet on the art farm, only gives it more of a kick.
The Rogue Gallery opens on December 1 with a show of the work of the highly regarded photographer Jasper James. Prior to settling in St Leonards a few years ago, James lived and work in the Far East for ten years and his sharp-eyed photographs bring into focus a part of the world that seems strangely to be both ancient and futuristic. Certainly, the cityscapes are quite stunning. These vast mega-cities are breathtakingly vast but, the way James deals with it, there is always a sense of the isolated and lonely individual. It should certainly be a thought-provoking exhibition.
A Jasper James image
Gange is himself a graduate of Chelsea Art College and a dedicated painter and sculptor. His own work is influenced by scenes from the movies and often features snippets of dialogue, but not necessarily dialogue that stems from the particular visual moment. As an artist, he has always had a fascination with the way the film world combines outward glamour with often tatty and tiresome behind-the-scenes realities. Gange was bitten by the film bug when he found himself, as a teenager. asked to play a role in a film involving some mates of his who were in a punk band. That might sound like low-end stuff, but that band was The Clash. And the film, the iconic Rude Boy. Quite a baptism of film. And after that – sort of typical but utterly unbelievably – he found himself in southern Spain taking part in Spaghetti Westerns. There is something wonderful about the image of Ray – a punky Londoner – somewhere in Andalucia learning to ride a horse, cowboy style. But, having made his home in St Leonards, he now finds there is little call for cowboys with a good line in a menacing stare.
Gange also hopes that the Rogue project will allow him to set up a niche publishing line, that would enable him to put out limited edition collections of creative writing and poetry. We asked him if he would consider selling other items in the shop. He is obviously wary of the dread-hideousness of the inevitable gift shop. He is dead set against that. This is interesting because he is a man who has experience in retailing things like arty T-shirts. He is obviously aware that a gallery has to be something more than a shop full of unusual and expensive stuff. He is well aware of the contradictions of art; that it is often both a commentary on our product-obsessed world and itself product. That successful selling can seem like selling out.
Ray Gange by Russell Baker
Ray is evidently a very interesting and complex man; happy to move through the various roles life has thrown at him. At the time of our chat, he was well aware that deadlines were rushing at him and the time available was shrinking. And he is also aware that some local folk are less than enthused by art galleries. And doubtless, there will be those that say this, relatively poor, town doesn’t need another gallery. But as he says, with more than a hint of the punk suck-it-and-see bravado in his eye, “here we just do our own thing.” Vile outlooks or whatever. And do it, he certainly will. It’s a great mantra but maybe tougher to do than to say. Billy Ocean may not be quite punk, but he might well have been talking about Ray Gange when he gave us the lyric-cum-proverb, ‘when the going gets tough…’
• For more info go to Instagram @roguegallerystleonards or facebook rogue gallery st leonards
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