This year I made it through the rain to see the UK premier of Argentinian artists Luciana Acuña and Alejo Moguillansky’s immersive production Efectos Especiales at the Greenwich & Docklands International Festival (GDIF). We watched as a dancer made their way through the streets, reacting to a soundtrack of music and shots, encountering coloured smoke […]
General
Travelling in a 1949 Daimler
This is my first (and probably only) post about a car. I was amazed to go out in this classic 1949 Daimler when I visited a friend recently. People stared as we drove past and complete strangers came up to talk to me. It’s the first time I’ve been in such a car and I […]
Visiting Canada House, London
I’ve often visited the Canada House Gallery as it’s just opposite the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing entrance but had never been inside Canada House itself so I leapt at the chance when a friend invited me to join her for a building tour. Upon entering you see the accustomed grand hallway, though the current entrance […]
The craft of sumo hairdressing.
A rare overseas sumo tournament was recently held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Before it began I attended a demonstration of sumo hairdressing hosted by Japan House out of curiosity. The presenter was sumo commentator Hiro Morita, the tokoyama (sumo hairdresser) was Tokoami, highly skilled with over 2 decades of experience and his […]
Materials
I have found that I return to the same range of materials again and again. Something draws me back to explore them more deeply, finding each encounter slightly different. Each material has personal associations and this pair of scrolls shows four of them. Gesso. Traditionally used as a sealant for a range of surfaces including […]
The magic of a rainy bus journey
It was a rainy evening on the way home from the studio. I’d finished my book so just gazed aimlessly out from the front seat at the top of the bus where someone had wiped the window with their sleeve earlier. Others have been entranced by electric light in the rain. An obvious example is […]