James Hart Dyke, Waiting in the Hotel Room, 2010
2009 marked the centenary year of MI6, the British Secret Service, and to commemorate the occasion, they invited artist James Hart Dyke behind the scenes of the legendary organisation in order to observe what truly goes on in the world of espionage.
Dyke is no stranger to top class missions and facing dangerous situations for his art. Previous projects that he has worked on have included painting in war zones with the British Forces and accompanying HRH The Prince of Wales on foreign royal tours. His latest mission with MI6 is now the subject of an exhibition at Mount Street Galleries in London, although everyone involved is quick to point out that none of the drawings or paintings that are on show reveal any sensitive information about the Secret Service or its agents.
For the first time, we can now get a glimpse at an outsiders unique rendition of the existence of those who work for MI6. The paintings and drawings are said to have a great amount of mystique and ambiguity that reflects upon the manner in which the the work of the MI6 agents is often surreal and even glamourous to us as viewers.
Dyke is said to have found the project very challenging, given that there were a great many restrictions and limitations to what he could be exposed to while at Vauxhall Cross, the Secret Service headquarters. Each and every observation that he made has been highly scrutinised and screened before being allowed to go on public view, and he was limited in the amount of time that he could spend painting on location.
The outcome of the project is certainly fascinating, and strikes up a great amount of curiosity. Here is our chance to move beyond the myth of James Bond and find out what it's really like to be a secret agent.