Sunday 29 December 2013

A Wellcoming experience

Never did I ever think that I would be able to visit six different countries within a couple of hours...

At the Wellcome collection's latest exhibition titled 'Foreign bodies: Common ground', six artists from six different countries provide a culturally relevant and bright, eye-opening insight into the world of health and medicine today.

With a theme as rich as medicine, it was no wonder I witnessed so many varying ideas of science and diverse mediums of art. 


I discovered mirror world too...




Now despite the amazing range of work on display, there was really just one piece in particular that I had fallen in love with, and well, I just basically couldn't take my eyes off of it, I must of looked like I was on something or other... 

Katie Paterson’s ‘fossil necklace’ was just so stunningly surreal.

When entering the dark, cavernous room (to which this piece lived) you were taken aback by its ghostly presence.  

I found myself face-to-face with this hanging ornament made from 170 carved and rounded fossils (the oldest bead being over 3.5 billion years old) with each representing a significant event within the evolution of life. 

From a fossilized bee to a fossilized ear bone, this piece had me looking further and further into the universe. I actually felt like I was in a land before time.


Inspired by genetics, the history of human evolution and archaeology, Paterson merges the notions of time and history oh so beautifully.


It's graspable form is held together by miniature looking worlds. 


Hmmm what will future fossils look like?

One thing I am certain of though, is that this necklace would go perfectly with my little black dress for New Years eve! 

Imagine just wearing 'the history of the world' around your neck whilst embarking into another year, another chapter of life's evolution...


Ultimately, in such a simple space, the atmosphere of this exhibition was totally compelling. I wish I could have informed you all on the other works there too, but that would be telling...go take a look at them for yourselves, the exhibition will be up and running until February 9th 2014!

I have a feeling that Katie Paterson's exploration of this complex concept of time and history (that interested the works of Zhang Enli too) might just be the path I want to take for my next project….

Hm…I guess it is time that will really tell.

Saturday 28 December 2013

I C A(nother exhibition)...

Braving the cold I went to visit the Institute of Contemporary Arts. 

The famous ICA prides itself on its three large galleries, two cinemas, theatre, restaurant, shop, bar and finally its café. It is a place of real venture and interest. There is also a certain freshness about it, which makes it the perfect place to go to when feeling a little uninspired...


The first gallery contained works from Bloomberg New Contemporaries, one being Catherine Hughes. 

Her pieces were (in many ways) a literal ‘highlight’ of mine. 

She traditionally framed (yet futuristically lit up) her digital prints of advertisements and then pushed them to a side, like drawing a curtain, to reveal only the bleak, blank wall behind. 
   

As a result, the images were almost impossible to read and looked almost like disposed (and slightly distressed) rubbish, but I liked how you had to delve deeper into what it might be.


Another impressive piece that stuck with me was Isabelle Southwood’s abstract wall painting ‘Homer Wake Up You’re Alive’.


It was a great demonstration of great innovation. Her approach to unlikely materials was startling as I discovered she used mustard, pepper and wasabi paste to create her painting. So wild and gorgeously unexpected - I love it. Super tasteful...(excuse the pun).

Having been set the objective over Christmas to come up with at least one passion, concern, observation or obsession to act as a springboard for my next design, I decided to do some extra research into what Southwood's piece of art here, was all about. 

Apparently this (weirdly) pleasing food painting of Homer Simpson’s warm dribble is an attempt to reveal his vitality. After an episode of 'The Simpsons' in which cartoon character Homer somehow 'cheats death', he finally vows to the world (and to himself) to live life to the fullest. The following week we see him eating pork chops and watching TV. Sound familiar? It certainly sounds like my mood today… (Doh!)



On a more serious note was the work of Steven Morgana called It was all Ephemeral as a rainbow’. This piece is predominantly a light sculpture, powered by a portable petrol generator.

A concave mirror with neon tubing creates a dizzying yet beautifully mesmerizing halo-of-a- rainbow which silently hovers over a semi-circle of different colored bottle-topped water. 

Each individual bottle, however, is filled with petrol and apparently (as noted on the wall text) it is cheaper than the water they once contained. How odd. I guess it is one of the paradoxes of modern life that water (one of the most abundant substances on Earth) once bottled costs more than petrol...


Moving on, a noteworthy trend was the return to prominence of found objects and I just couldn’t ignore the obsessive engagement with the everyday and mass-produced.

Thomas Aitchison's 'Lynx Genesis' is a pure example of this. His simple sculpture was made out of those cringey lynx deodorant cans which we all know so well...I found it quite amusing, playing on popular culture and all...

It indeed had me smiling.  


Hello me (in a panel of fake grass matted with hair gel)




     Onto the theatre space of London’s ICA it had been transformed into this incredible piece of art by the artist Zhang Enli. He spent a solid eight days painting the rooms of the esteemed art institution. 


The amazing and delightfully wholesome installation, titled ‘Space painting’ was like entering a cocoon washed over in watercolour. 


 The painting contains you - it is all around you and underneath you.


 It has been said that Enli’s work embodies a very personal relationship with his surroundings and "for the ICA he aims to stretch colours across the space ‘like human skin’ with thin washes of pigment."

It is pure energy in abundance and so mysterious in atmosphere.

The grungy, raw and urban presence is clear from the start of the piece, and only by looking closer can you witness some of those frenetic strokes of paint which resemble somewhat graffiti marks or a well-worn nightclubby ground floor.


Enli once said “I saw a mark on the floor, which had been made by furniture which had been sitting there. After all the furniture had been moved out, I saw marks of where things used to be. It signalled the passing of time for me. These works also allow me to explore my interest in the relationship between people and painting.”  I found this to be so poetic and beautiful...to notice and interact with marks that tell a story through their history is such a wonderful concept. 


The last room of the ICA featured my one and only, Ibiza. (Don’t worry though, the exhibition was based on the island in all its glory in the early 80s, so it was Ibiza before ‘Ibiza became Ibiza’ - if you know what I mean…)


The smaller space set the scene for a more intimate exhibition and I felt like I was on a real getaway, a release from daily stresses. A soft gentle beat blissfully breathed out in the background welcoming us into the world of Bohemia. 

I have always admired hippies for their influential alternative lifestyles and developing party style.


Old school posters and retro ephemera from the worlds most influential clubs at that time (Pacha, Amnesia and Ku) surrounded the space.


There were photographs too, all along the walls and in no need of an instagram filter or photoshop to make it look like paradise.


This year’s new contemporaries (as well as the other two rooms I saw) were undoubtedly strong, quirky and also often controversial. I liked the offbeat vibe each piece of work/room had - I was certainly shocked by some of the new, unorthodox techniques used by the artists.

I think the overall contrasting themes that I took with me having left the ICA were: vitality/lethargy, sensible/ridiculous, exotic/mundane, everyday/extraordinary, party/lonely, space/claustrophobic, present/past…

Ok…that should do it!

I think I have more than enough to work with now! Thank you ICA, until next time…

Friday 27 December 2013

Jameel prize 2013

Warning: This exhibition contains eye-fooling contents throughout...

Let me introduce you to... 



Upon entry you are immediately transported into a whole new world via that truly magical carpet ride you've always dreamed of. 

(OK, fine… so I maybe exaggerating a little… I am certainly no Aladdin and it's not really a magic carpet, but it truly is the closest thing! )

Nada Debs' concrete carpet (inlaid with mother-of-pearl for punctuation) really does take you on a surprising journey.

I found the piece enrapturing. It moved me into a cold, modern world of gimmicky creation. I could really feel it's sense of weightiness as soon as I saw it. I felt heavy but enjoyably confused as I witnessed something so seemingly traditional yet cleverly made with such a great and well-known contemporary material.


Moving on,  I noticed the work of Laurent Mareschal, a French artist who also creates his carpet using some more deceiving and unusual materials.  


I know, I know, you wouldn't have guessed it...

This ephemeral, stretched out, site-specific carpet is made from our everyday materials such as spices, soap and food. His work is deliberately fragile, and Mareschal expects his audiences to participate in transforming it too– for example, by eating the food!


I couldn't believe the crisp precision of all the lines and edges! I liked how it wasn't totally perfect though...I could see a few smudges here and there and that just proved to me that those ornate tiles really were made from those deceiving and unusual materials we all know oh so well. 

Gazing in amazement at the piece, I suddenly felt like a child, I had the incredible urge to blow on the piece and experience that gentle and sensual whirlwind of spice and colour...one can only imagine what it might be like though!

This whole exhibition was so inspirational, especially for my 'transformation' project I still have to work on...

With my Christmas homework in mind...designer Florie Salnot really stood out for me. She transforms discarded plastic bottles into beautiful pieces of jewellery. A craft she also created to empower Saharawi refugees.

(I was now no longer in the Arabic world of abstraction, but more so in the Sahara of surrealism.)


The process is somewhat simple. By cutting painted plastic bottles into fine strips, weaving it around nails and finally submerging it in hot sand, Salnot has the power to make the non-precious, precious. 


Totally mind-blowing.

Few of us would believe that this intricate and delicate “Plastic Gold” jewellery is in fact made from something considered to be ugly and worthless. 



I guess it's true then...all that glitters is not gold. 


And finally, meet the winner, Dice Kayek. 

This fashion label (established by sisters Ece and Ayşe Ege) is a true Turkish delight. 

Their collection ‘Istanbul Contrast’ evokes Istanbul’s architectural and artistic heritage and...well....I'm in love.


Daily inspiration