Bailey's Stardust

Bailey's Stardust is a show I was really looking forward to seeing because I had seen a few of David Bailey's pieces throughout my life. Along comes this beautiful show put together by the man himself including different collections of all of his work, so of course I had to go. Firstly, I have to say the staff at the National Portrait Gallery is always very nice and very friendly, it's always a pleasure to be there and interact with them. Secondly, somehow no matter which day of the week or what time of day, the temporary shows are always really crowded. But I guess that's good for business. Thirdly, you can't really take pictures inside the show. I was sneaky and sent a few snapchats but nothing I could keep. 

The space used for this particular show was a large variety of rooms that followed a pretty obvious sequence. Of course to avoid the crowds as much as possible I went round the opposite way. But there was a room for the Rolling Stones, another with mainly fashion photography, a collection of portraits and the list goes on. Every image I saw made me stop and catch my breath. Some more than others, but that's always the case. 

I left the show feeling I had learned something, not only about his life, but also about photography and how much the work of one individual person can change. I would love to see other photographers' bodies of work in such a large space, showing the transitions in their lives. I was just really taken by all these images and I still think about them every day. 

Here's the link to the show: http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/bailey/exhibition.php 

(it's on until the 1st of June) 

#Art

#Art is a show my friend organised and contributed to. It was for one night only here in London but it sold out even before the day of the show. #Art was a show to bring together people, ideas and ambition. There were photographers, musicians, designers, painters, and free beer. The space was between Angel and Old Street, with the entrance on the ground floor and the actual show on the basement level. 

The group of people there is what struck me most. Yes, of course there were a lot of friends and family present, but all of these people believed in what their friends were creating in any of these creative fields. It is really important to me to support artists in any shape or form. Without creativity we're just machines repeating the same steps through life until we die. The exhibition was a good eye opener. It was wonderful to see how well people collaborated and the effort each individual put in was very noticeable. 

The microphone was acting up so most of the performances were done without. The biggest struggle was keeping the crowd quiet. After a few drinks people were getting louder and louder. I stayed throughout the whole show, talking to friends, congratulating my friend Matteo's achievements and just enjoying the positive vibes. I was so happy to be there and witness it, even if I wasn't more involved, it was amazing. 

Here's my friend Matteo's Tumblr site: http://matteoscaglione.tumblr.com/

Photographer's Gallery

A few days ago I went to the Photographer's Gallery again. Andy Warhol, William S. Burroughs, and David Lynch all have a floor dedicated to each of them. I took the lift to the 5th floor and worked my way down. Most of the images were in black and white, which made their subject stand out even more. It was very interesting to see the transitions of their different perspectives during the 20th century. 

The gallery itself has very open spaces, lining the images along the walls and using the central space to display books or other prints in glass casing. The thing I like the least about photography exhibits is when they cover the images with glass, because you end up seeing a reflection of yourself in the image. This can be used well as an optical illusion but it's really frustrating when looking at a very dark image.

I went to the show especially to see Andy Warhol's work because I've seen so many of his other pieces so I though I would enjoy these too. However I was most impressed by David Lynch's work because it reminds me of the part of London in which I live. There were run down brick factories in most of the images, and I live in an old wool factory, so it was really interesting to see the decline of these buildings and how they have been reused now. 

Overall, the show made me reflect a lot on the past and how things evolve. I rarely have time to think so clearly and deeply on a subject so going to this show helped me clear my head and focus my thoughts. It was really interesting, and a good 3 GBP spent. 

Here's the website for the show: http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/current-exhibitions-2

MJM Showroom

My friend Gabi and I were walking around Shoreditch when a cool door caught our eye. This door then lead to a staircase inviting us up. When we got to the first floor the room opened up, and we were in a showroom. Specifically the MJM showroom. The MJM showroom is there to display the designs of Makin Jan Ma a Hong Kong designer working in London. The showroom is also his studio where he creates most of his pieces. 

As part of his degree he created a story, with 5 different characters and his clothing label is a continuation of that project. Each collection belongs to one of the 5 characters and shows a part of them very vividly. In the future he plans on creating more characters for his different lines. I really enjoyed visiting the showroom, even if I can't afford any of the clothes. There were small things placed here and there that reminded me of Hong Kong. They also had some insanely beautiful flowers to brighten up the place.

Overall, I had a great time there, I've signed up for their mailing list just to see where this creative mind goes, and hopefully one day be able to afford something from one of his lines. The lady working there was very kind, and she told us the whole story about him and why the designs are the way they are. To me this is a really strong label with a very clear vision, I love it. 

Here's their website: http://www.mjm-store.com/engine/shop/index.html

Whitechapel Gallery

I’ve walked past Whitechapel Gallery about 500 times throughout my time in London. Finally when my friend Gabi was here we decided to go inside. We didn’t go to the main temporary exhibit that was going on because there was an entrance fee, but we did however walk around the rest of the gallery. We were able to admire the art work as well as building. 

On the lowest floor there was a huge room with a room inside it. The internal room was made out of books relating to history and anthropology. Inside this room made of books there was a little staircase that had a mirror at the top. This mirror allowed you to see yourself in the room as a sort of outsider. I really liked this. 

Upstairs there were a few rooms available to visit for free. One was a collection of historical pieces showing the history of the gallery and the events at the old gallery. The other room had a collection of older pieces showing a combination of mixed media. Overall, I really liked the gallery space, but I’m certain that next time I’m going to pay to see the temporary show. 

Here’s their website: http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/

Body Language at the Saatchi Gallery

I recently went to see the new show at the Saatchi Gallery. It's called "Body Language". There were a lot of colourful varied pieces with a lot of different influences. Sadly, my trip there was sort of ruined by two groups of students there on a school trip. They were really uninterested and making it very difficult to appreciate the art. So I rushed through the gallery staring longer at the pieces that intrigued me most. 

One of my favourite things about the Saatchi Gallery is that they integrate paintings, photographs and sculpture. This then leads them to use the space in a really interesting way, and it may be part of the reason for why I keep going back. They also always have things that you can't see any where else. The selection of pieces is always broad and diverse and thought provoking even if all you're thinking about is the composition.

The Saatchi Gallery is just one of my favourite places in London and it makes me happy to live here. It is one of the few places where I can be completely alone and be surrounded by ideas without feeling lonely or overwhelmed. 

Here's their website: http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/body_language/

Taylor Wessing Prize at the National Portrait Gallery

London has billions of museums, ok maybe not billions but it does have quite a few and they always seem to have amazing temporary exhibitions. Last Friday I wanted to do something more with my day and I decided to have a look at the Taylor Wessing Prize photographs at the National Portrait Gallery. All of the images are breath taking as well as thought provoking. Through the beautiful photographs you gain a tiny bit of insight into the people's lives, and the photographer as well. Some of the images can be scaring, but most of them just push you to try and understand the person in the image for a few minutes. 

Sadly it was really crowded when I went so I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I hoped. I would have loved to linger in front of every image at least twice. Once to soak in their story and the second to admire them. If I could see the show again I would probably go on a weekday morning where the number of people in the space is lower and it feels like it's just you and the person in the photograph. 

Overall, I loved it, I feel like it was the perfect way to end my week. The entrance to the show costs a mere £4 and you can probably stay in there and stare for hours. These portraits stood out to me so much that I didn't want to browse the rest of the gallery incase my memory started to lose the photos from the show. 

I'm very excited for their next temporary exhibition starting on the 6th of February, Bailey's Stardust. 

Here's the website for the National Portrait Gallery: http://www.npg.org.uk/

London Art Fair

The London Art Fair is one of those things that gets advertised obsessively on the tube. This year, I got to attend it because of my university. The event itself is really well organized and there is a good flow to it. Sadly, if you want a map of the exhibitors or anything else to guide you you have to spend even more money. That's one of the biggest things I disliked about the event, it was really expensive. The food court wasn't too badly priced, but who can even afford food after they've spent about 20 pounds to just see the show.

The show is organized as a trade show, there's a little exhibit at the start of show, but then everything is divided into little stands for the sellers. All of the stands are very uniform but some of them have really amazing pieces. There was one that had a map of the world made out of the different countries currency. 

I think attending was a fun experience, but since I wasn't there to invest anything my time wasn't used wisely. I think I would much rather enjoy visiting each gallery individually and look over the art than seeing a huge variation of art all crammed into one big show. Thankfully I went on the Friday so it wasn't too crowded, the ambiance was good, and everyone seemed interested in being there. Overall, I liked the show but I would have liked it so much more if I could have bought some of the art.

Here's their website: http://www.londonartfair.co.uk/

Brick Lane Bookshop

A few weeks ago I got an insane craving to go book shopping. I wanted to skim through the pages of a book and fall in love with the writing before choosing what to buy. I tend not to like buying books online so the last books I bought were at Broadway Market. Walking into the Brick Lane Bookshop I didn't know where to start looking. They had a huge selection of unusual Christmas cards, and books about East London at the entrance.

After picking up and looking at a few books on the history of East London I already knew I'd have to come back with my dad. My dad is probably one of the best bookshop companions, he tends to know which books should be read and which ones you can leave on the shelf. And the thought of him pulled me towards the back of the book store, to the travel section. Guide books may be a little outdated especially if you're travelling to a city but if you're going somewhere distant where you wont have internet the guide book acts as your life vest or seat belt. 

But again I got distracted, I saw a pile of memorable books from this past century and it reminded me, I haven't read anything by Charles Bukowski and I really should. He seemed to know exactly how to say things in a way that I'd understand. On my next trip to Brick Lane I'll be sure to pop in the Bookshop and pick up a few books to read during the winter months. 

Here's their website: http://bricklanebookshop.org/

Red Hot Exhibition

A few weeks ago I went to see an exhibition at a gallery on Redchurch street. The exhibition is called RED HOT. After seeing a little blurb on Time Out about it, I decided to find out more. The artist (photographer) Thomas Knights noticed the common stigma in the UK of making fun of red heads, stereotypically known as "gingers", specifically the "ginger" male. Bullying towards red headed people is seen very often in British culture especially. As a girl with red hair, I felt like I had to go see the show for myself.

When walking in all the walls of the gallery were covered in photographs of these red headed men. Each image had a little quote next to it, explaining either a bullying experience they lived or a joke, or a statement of inspiration. While reading through these short reflective statements I started to realise that I had been bullied too. When I was 13 I was in the school play and an older student asked me (in a very arrogant tone) if I dyed my eyebrows, because my hair was red and my eyebrows were brown. At the time I didn't even think about the possibility of dying my eyebrows. But I think this experience then lead me to dye my hair black the following year. I think now is the time to say, my hair isn't flaming red, my Italian ID card says my hair is "auburn". And in the past few years it has been getting darker and darker because I don't have time to be outside much in summer. 

This exhibition however made me proud to be different, and it made me notice that having red hair is special. The show genuinely touched me, but I think anyone else could have enjoyed the show too. Hopefully it will become a well known exhibit and tour around the world with more and more images being added to the collection of photographs. 

Here's the show's website if you want to explore more of what I talked about: http://www.redhot100.com/