Ana Vukadin

Visiting Pause & Eject 2, the last interim show featuring the work of Goldsmiths' MFA students, is an experience in and of itself. For those who were expecting to waltz into Shoreditch Town Hall and see yet another graduate student art show, a shocker is in store. The show is not, in fact, in the Town Hall proper, but somewhere a little less distinguished: the basement.

The interior is quite possibly the unsung hero of this show. By selecting this basement as the site of their exhibition, Goldsmiths' students have taken the concept of the White Cube, crumpled it up, torn it into shreds and then vigorously flushed it down the toilet. The space is absolutely stunning and absolutely derelict: paint (none of it white) is peeling away, floors are uneven, stairs are rickety and wires are hanging ominously from the ceilings.

This labyrinthine, Baroque skeleton features works by thirty-six students. A truly international crowd, there is no common theme bringing their pieces together, but the show works as a whole thanks especially to the location: the high-ceilinged rooms of a myriad of sizes separate the works just enough so that they are not invasive of each other. It is refreshingly eclectic and laid back.

Tucked away in a tiny room is Miss B's Hair Salon: Cut and Conversation, where the artist, Ruth Beale, is clipping the hair of a boy whom she is trying to engage into a conversation about the idea of wilderness.

At the foot of a spiral staircase, a rustling sound announces the performance of Hye Young Ku, who clad in a gorgeous plastic black gown with an immense trail descends the stairs with an entry worthy of a debutante. She walks with a bright diva smile on her face and shakes everyone by the hand, welcoming them to her show. It is unnerving, amusing and leaves everyone feeling oddly overwhelmed.

Chu Chung Teng's video How Kind of You to Let Me Come (2010) is a subtly sarcastic critique of immigration, where various foreigners are urged to repeat in a voice not unlike that of Professor Higgins', 'The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains'. Their enunciation, however, is unrecorded, but their misery is ever more present with each nudge of the exasperating English voice.

Another gem is Burcu Yagcioglu's Untitled (2010), a compelling silent video featuring the artist carefully arranging her long, dark hair into a perfect veil, ingeniously challenging its symbolism. And finally, Pedro Lasch and Moise Jerry Rosembert's Writing on the Wall (2010) initiative is a spectacular homage to Haiti, whereby the Haitian graffiti artist Jerry will transfer international messages onto the remaining walls of Port-au-Prince and vice versa.

This show is not to be missed.