11 May - 17 June 2007

Several bulging carrier bags lie, discarded, on the pavement on the Finchley Road. Tantalising tat! Ost Property, or part of it, discovered.

Photographs of elaborate coiffures, family albums, letters, cuttings, odds and ends: fragments from the life of the celebrated Miss Annette Ost, amateur singer and youngest "lady professor" at her father Julien's Hairdressing Academy in 1930s London.

Julia Spicer and Jon Cairns have selected a group of artists to create works which augment this collection. Each has been given licence to tell their own tales about the life left on the street. Some may have filled in the gaps between what is already evident in the found material; others have hinted at versions of Ost that extend her talents in new directions. All have worked the border between provable fact and historical fable.

Miscellaneous items ranging from Ost’s endorsement for hairdressing equipment and an early recording of her soprano performance through to a collection of vintage photographs and private texts will be exhibited.

Most of the items in the show are not attributed - perhaps art work, perhaps part of Annette's story, perhaps now both.

Gallery Talk :
Sunday 20 May 2pm
Dr Margherita Sprio, from the Department of Art History and Theory at the University of Essex, will discuss her take on Ost Property.