Après la pluie

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Wowie Bowie!

Before I start this post on the glorious and glamorous David Bowie exhibition down in the sunny South of Kensington, I must shamefully admit that before visiting the V&A, I was actually and totally never quite the Bowie expert. In fact I had only heard of a couple of his songs (tragic I know). I had only really known Bowie for his jolting fashion sense and glittered alien/lizard-like kind of look (Well…I guess that’s one way to describe him).

Anyway, just hearing how amazing the exhibition was by family and friends, I knew I had to go see it for myself. Luckily for me, I have a musical boyfriend, so I knew that this exhibition would certainly be something that would appeal to the both of us.

After managing to convince him to see it with me, we both went to visit the exhibition, both of us uncertain of what to expect but also extremely excited.

When walking into the exhibition, we were given a headset accompanied by headphones. I usually tend to dismiss the offer, but this time, it seemed to be 100% necessary. It was true. Although it was slightly distracting, you could really feel that you were truly immersed in Bowie’s head. And it was incredible. – confusing but unbelievable at the same time. Plus this little thing probably helped me to refrain from talking too much (a known habit of mine)!

(Apologies for the blurry picture below– I was terrified of getting thrown out!)

The costumes were incredible too. So daring and amazing. Why can't we all be as bold or fearless? We need to embrace our weirdness! Hats off to you Kansai Yamamoto and David Bowie - truly extraordinary outfits.

What really caught me by surprise though (alongside from all the metallic and other material mania) was how tiny Bowie’s waist was (a 26-inch one apparently - jealous) and I was more so dazed by his powerfully wide thigh muscles (not so jealous).

Something that really stuck with me was seeing the original inky-written lyrics of Starman by David Bowie. It was a wonderful thing to see the very first step of something that became such a huge and successful part of Bowie’s career.

What made me laugh was my boyfriend picking out at how weirdly childish and bad his handwriting was. But the crossed out words and even the mistakes he had made were heart-warming. And even noticing the square-lined paper he had written on took me back to my childhood. I had some kind of mathematics year 9 wistfulness thing going on at this point.

Another favorite moment of mine was walking around the penultimate room. Huge, enormous screens were flashing and projecting footage of some of Bowie’s old gigs. It was unreal. I literally felt like I was in the front row at one of his concerts. As I watched closer and closer, I realised that the walls were lined with costumed mannequins towering above you on scaffolding. It was epic. An unforgettable, sensory-overloaded experience (that was for sure).

I think that it would be fair to say that 'David Bowie is...' a true legend. He has inspired all areas of life (even this urban outfitters t-shirt that I was tempted to buy this morning!)

Ultimately, this other-worldly human being is a true inspiration - not only to me, but also clearly to the rest of the world. I have learnt so much from him in just this tiny space of time. He has pushed the boundaries and that is what I aim to do.

So thank you David Bowie!

(Even this cute card sold at Topshop above seems to be a fan of Bowie's work - oh how I love that iconic bolt of his!)

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Instagram - my monthly wrap-ups

So I know I've been a bit slack on the wordy front of my blog posts lately, but it is all in good reason (I promise!) The truth is that all my arty commitments for and at Central Saint Martins have been taking over my life for the past few months and...surprisingly, I'm not actually complaining - I've loved every second of it!

What's weird is that, during this time of neglect (blog-wise), I've noticed myself spending more and more time on a genius-little thing called instagram.

Truth be told - since I got my new (and humongous) android phone, I have felt that I wasn't so 'hipster' or 'cool' enough for it.

However, despite this worry, I decided to register anyway (you can find me on instagram under the username 'luciedavis')

What I have come to love most about instagram is being able to see my non-arty friends get creative! It has been amazing to notice each of their own style, their own obsessions and I just find that so interesting and inspiring. It is kind of like reading their life stories in little squares. It's different.

Also, I mean it when I say that instagram has truly made me change the way I view my work. It's helped me to be so more creative and to push past my limitations of what I thought to be possible with a mobile phone.

Here is my monthly nest of instagrams - my tiny, precious moments worth preserving:

A sneak peek into my instagram food adventures: A fruity boost and a fresh start to a lovely day

This might sound silly …but thanks to instagram (and to my muma) I really have learnt to make more of a conscious effort to lay everything out nicely, use proper napkins, include humour and fresh flowers (something that the gorgeous Jane Packer would have been proud of) and to get creative with my meals.

Hair care

Kisses

My kind of people

Test driving a new Alice and Olivia jacket at work...(I couldn't help myself!)

Possibly the thinnest house I've ever seen?...eat up!

Celebrating International Women's day with this pretty lady

I've been inspired again and again by complete strangers on instagram. Sometimes, seeing an instagram photo can simply encourage me to take a walk and capture that would-be overlooked moment.