Is This The End or Just The Beginning – Colin Gold’s Reflective Exhibition at Art in the Docks
Situated between the still waters of the Royal Docks and the River Thames, Art in the Docks provides a unique, contemplative, and accessible environment for creative expression. Located in East London’s historic Docklands, this arts venue stands as a beacon for inclusive cultural programming, with a strong focus on community engagement. More than a gallery space, Art in the Docks is a platform that champions underrepresented voices and local participation, offering high-quality artistic experiences to audiences who may not typically feel welcome in more formal art settings.
In 2021, the gallery presented an exhibition by multidisciplinary artist Colin Gold, titled Is This The End or Just The Beginning — a striking collection of work exploring the intersection of architecture, material reuse, and urgent social commentary.
The Exhibition: A Dialogue Between Architecture and Emotion
Colin Gold’s practice bridges the boundaries between architectural precision and intuitive, emotion-driven construction. Through this exhibition, visitors were invited to consider contemporary societal issues through a series of sculptural forms, maquettes, and assemblages crafted from found and abandoned materials. His work poses fundamental questions about society, often mirroring concerns that resonate deeply with East London communities, from urban decay and pollution to political disillusionment and cultural heritage.
Gold’s exhibition wasn’t about creating commercial, decorative objects. Instead, it offered a thought-provoking, narrative-driven experience: “I don’t produce works with the idea that they are directly for sale or deliberately commercial… I intend them to be used in the inclusion of a narrative,” he explains. His pieces function as visual essays, each one commenting on global events or local experiences — a collapsing cityscape here, a polluted river there — all rendered with rawness and honesty that compel engagement.
On Process and Material: The Artist’s Voice
At the heart of Gold’s practice is a deep understanding of the tactile connection between brain and hand — the moment when thought becomes form. He reflects, “It’s interesting, the link between your hands and your brain… the difference between making something pre-programmed, like an architectural drawing, and when creating an idea, an emotion, a statement or comment, three-dimensionally, where your hands become an extension of the thought process.”
Gold’s use of reclaimed and discarded objects speaks not only to environmental awareness but also to the way memory and meaning can be embedded in material. His approach often allows the material itself to guide the direction of a piece, ensuring spontaneity while maintaining a sharp narrative focus. The result is a practice that is both deeply personal and universally relevant — work that sparks intergenerational dialogue, especially among those whose lives are impacted by the very issues his art explores.
A Lasting Impression
For many visitors, Is This The End or Just The Beginning was more than an exhibition — it was a moment of introspection and community reflection. Set within the tranquil, industrial backdrop of the docks, the show highlighted the power of creative engagement to speak to real-world issues with urgency and empathy.
Through Colin Gold’s hands, ideas are transformed into layered, complex structures — part architecture, part memory, part protest. And through Art in the Docks, these ideas found a fitting home: a space where thought, material, and the everyday lives of East Londoners come together in meaningful conversation.
