East End Promise

The most startling images in 'East End Promise' are photographs of Spitalfields Market from the mid-1980s. Instead of the now familiar chic and trendy shops and thronging café culture, it's a dumping ground for boxes and other debris. The only inhabitants appear homeless. It's like a scene from '28 Days Later'.

The pictures are a reminder of how dramatically the whole area has changed in the last 25 years. It's also the starting point for this exhibition of art, film and memorabilia that documents the community of artists and others who lived, worked and partied in the area from 1985-2000.

The event has been organised by club promoter Ernesto Leal and artist Paul Sakoilsky, both initiators of Shoreditch's earlier and edgier arts and music scene. The emphasis is on the archival rather than the art - photos of D&B night Metalheadz, Charlie Wright's International Bar or Joshua Compston's Factual Nonsense Gallery - making it of more interest in historical, rather than artistic, terms.

It's also a reminder that the 1990s weren't all about artists clambering for fame and financial success. There was also a critical and satirical response to the Brit-art boom. A poster of covers of the sniggering tabloid-style magazine produced by art collective BANK includes the headlines 'GALLERIES, ALL OWNED BY RICH PEOPLE, SHOCK! and the Saatchi-bating 'AD MAN YOU'RE A BAD MAN!'

The mood of the show is less rose-tinted nostalgia and more a recognition of a community, warts and all. And like all communities, it too has evolved. Some artists, like Tracey Emin, have become household names, some have stopped making art altogether and some, notably Compston, didn't survive their mid-twenties. With major arts cuts looming, it's probably wise to remember that nothing lasts forever.