Recently I had the fortune of visiting the October Gallery on a very special evening. Not only I was able to peruse and get better acquainted with Brion Gysin’s work through the exhibition Unseen Collaborator but also attended a lecture by the writer and cultural historian Mike Jay on the Club des Haschichins and some of the ramifications of hashish consumption and the Assassins in modern culture.
Starting from the beginning… who was Brion Gysin? To most people, he might be more familiar due to the association with William Burroughs, well known in mainstream culture due to the film adaptation of his book Naked Lunch by David Cronenberg. The cut-up technique was also widely used by Burroughs but it had been, in fact, invented by Brion Gysin. This long time collaboration is also very present in the show, as there are a few pieces and photos, showing Burroughs.
