the group show skyscraper takes its name from a novel written in the same year that the empire state building opened its doors. the novel is a romance tinged with feminist ambition and an homage to aspirational architecture – motifs that the artists here display a common regard for. chicks on speed, madelon vriesendorp and pelican avenue all share a fantastical approach to design that leads beyond utility towards the articulation of desire and absurdity. far from the earnest pronouncements of 1970s feminism, skyscraper is a joyous declaration of independence from conservatism, logic and category distinction; for the show pelican avenue has made a wall hanging from printed fabric that, while suggesting computer-generated imagery, seems to describe a plan for the fantastical realm of an enchanted forest or a lost city. 4 September - 11 October 2009; Kate McGarry Gallery / London