coldadventures

Another amazing day at Kings College working with the great team that is synthetic anatomy. The groups are beginning to gell, the session on team building connected to today's workshop, which included SWOT analysis on the senses combined with animals (what do we mean by useful?) and developing communication skills with 'bag anatomy'. A swift visit to the Science Gallery and off to Stansted to catch a plane to Tallinn. A glorious couple of days in Tallinn - so so cold but  public transport is so connected and easy, making  movement through the city a joy. From one eating spot to another with galleries and museums in-between. Add warehouses full of second hand stuff, areas viing for high rise dystopian post USSR award, walks along the Baltic, going to the top of the Tallinn TV tower and beating eachother with eucalyptus branches in a Russian sauna meant that it all felt easy, especially as the fare was cheap or free if you are a resident. We ate fabulous food, Especially loved the Georgian Food at The Kurz (chuttu and kartulige) the fusion food at SALT, pizza at the 50th top pizza restaurant in Europe, herring in blackcurrant for breakfast and the pastries are to die for almost everywhere, actually everywhere. Estonian Kringel is a must. In terms of galleries and museums The Kumu is a glorious modern space with a superb collection, it was interesting to think about how artists have been sharing information and talking with each other in an underground 'soft power' way for years, evidenced by the creation of similar work to European artists and movements. To not value this and in fact for Brexiteers and rightwing nationists around the world to remove the support and block creative discussions is just dumb but artists will find ways to collaborate, share and grow together, this is why creativity frightens the small, insular minded. Meanwhile - I don't know if it was translation but the texts in the shows were poetic in nature, especially the titles - Symptoms of change - They began to talk - The future is in one hour - Museum of Obsessions - When wicked resides without -Alarming are the bells that echo in the landscape - The forgotten tablecloth: the spell of crumpled materials -The dance of small steps - Object to be destroyed - Elementary forms and the Anatomy of Feelings. We will return.

progcomputerrockandsomeotherstuff

A weekend in London to see the Lambrini Girls. They were supporting Idles at Ally Pally. There was a couple of good tracks but mainly it became a little boring and communicated a sort of confusing message – fuck the police and the government and at the same time think about community building, simultaneously promoting piece and talking about mental health awareness and calling on people to love one another. The other support act, Battles - who's music was way too clever, but not interesting, all those extensive noodling samples and guitar/drum solos – prog computer rock. But the Lambrini Girls are quite marvellous and come highly recommended, the mosh pits are beautifully generated and controlled. Meanwhile dropped into South London Gallery to see some gloriously pointless things beautifully made by Nairy Baghramiam. Maybe this is the definition of art! On the way home - Mark Steel on desert island discs is a gem - great songs and great storytelling. Onto screens – Joker: Folie à Deux was stunning, a modern, dark, beautiful way of thinking about dance.

extractsfromthepastandfuture

I’ve been looking again at the catalogue notes from the show – Manual for Survival in Hamburg – below some extracts…

The profound changes that we are experiencing on an everyday level, from the destruction of the environment to the age of pandemics, have already transformed human subjectivity. The prevailing sensitivity that can be discerned today is a sort of "post-apocalyptic melancholy," the sense of an ending that is unlike any other ending before, an ending that is inevitable if we continue with our current world system, an ending meaning the end of the biosphere and mass extinction, whether it is rapid or slow, the feeling that everything changes and that the only thing that's certain is extinction. This naturally creates anxiety-and leads to the difficulty, or rather impossibility, of coping with the irreversible loss.

The past is as equally contested as the future. Time itself, it seems, has become the medium of conflict; if you unearth history, if you free time from its seemingly logical and linear path, you can see beyond the realm of the real-which is always constructed by those with the power to rule over the stories that govern our societies.

Religion is a ritual invented to create meaning here and now and today and tomorrow-and God is needed to find a structure, to achieve community. Faith, as different from religion, is a practice that helps you to position yourself in time and in space.

What is human time? What is natural time? And what if the two collide? When the British in the seventeenth century made their way to what would later be called North America, many of the colonists were overwhelmed by the majestic ecosystem and abundance of wildlife. But the colonial hunger for resources quickly resulted in mass deforestation, mass extinction, and the genocide of indigenous populations. Human life had existed long before on the continent, but rather than claiming to be rulers over a plot of land, native tribes saw themselves as part of the system that surrounded them; their role was more akin to that of a steward than an owner.

Can we tell the story of suppression by using the master's tools? What is the price of education, of knowledge-or rather of knowing? Who decides which voices get to be heard? And aren't these tools in the end just perpetuating systems of hierarchy? "It's not just about what we know, but how we come to know it,"

What is the mirage of power that we are presented with? What is the way politics work? And how does it distort what we perceive as reality? How does it disfigure the people who represent politics-politicians, lobbyists, suitcase-bearers? Outside, inside? And what are the consequences of this spectacle of politics for democracy in the twenty-first century?

Or, in other words, what is power? As Europe turns itself into a fortress, the values that helped create Europe are undermined: What is the Enlightenment, if Europe allows thousands and thousands and thousands to drown, turning the Mediterranean into a mass grave?

Who owns what? First, we thought the internet was for free; then we realized that we were the product. Facebook was not free, Twitter was not free, we were not free. The idealism of the early days of the digital yonder is long gone. What remains is cold calculation and doses of disgust. But is this the right attitude? In the age of Al, can we afford to turn away and let corporations rule this emerging new world?And connected to this question: What is the passing of beauty, what is futility, vanity, decay, what is the passing of time in one's life and what is the connection to the bigger space, call it culture, civilization, the universe?

Who owns what? First, we thought the internet was for free; then we realized that we were the product. Facebook was not free, Twitter was not free, we were not free. The idealism of the early days of the digital yonder is long gone. What remains is cold calculation and doses of disgust. But is this the right attitude? In the age of Al, can we afford to turn away and let corporations rule this emerging new world?

What do we think of when we think of resistance? Is it a protest, an unruly mob, armed backlash? Finding themselves at the centre of a culture war, many trans and nonbinary persons, specifically kids, see their sheer existence questioned on a daily basis.

Crime is a stigma, but for whom? Is crime committed by a person or inflicted on a person? What is the role of society, what is the relation between power, poverty, and the rule of the law-which tends to support both power and poverty, the codified dividing chu line for civilization.

One failure of liberalism is on an anthropological level: the assumption that everything starts with the individual. The societies that we build on this assumption are limiting both our imagination and our realities. The lives we construct on this premise are poorer, less intense and happy-community is what we are made for, and community is what we need to build.

Is it an event? Or is it a process? Is it fast or slow? Is it loud or quiet? Does it announce itself? Is it something we can anticipate? Can we wait for it to happen? What is the meaning of anticipating without knowing? Can we prepare for what we don't know? Or do we know?

If a bullet crosses a border, if death is sent from nation to nation, who is to judge?

What is technology? Energy running through a system. What is knowledge? Information embedded in a system. What is intelligence? The way to read and understand that system. Then what is the difference between technological and human intelligence?

Elsewhere it's been a busy week - Hofesh Shechter's From England with Love was truly awesome - from the mournful beginning through to the tragic ending, all was superbly lit. Celebrating 25 years of Home live art at Shoreditch town hall was 'liveart interesting' 6 performances on a loop. The latest Hayward shows are worth a look - Haegue Yang has her usual material repertoire of blinds and traditional techniques to create exciting work that is both aesthetically fun through the play of light as well as the political statement that the use of blinds supports. Huang Po-Chin has a great video work of a performance involving wearing copious shirts and cutting them off, alongside photographs of a version of Erwin Wurm incorrectly wearing items of clothing. Onto screens – Will & Harper – sad yet glorious road trip. The Outrun – trauma and more trauma. Deep into Fantasmas – what to say – almost indescribably odd, yet wonderous.

veniceisstillthereasever

So Venice was where and how I left it. I'm always surprised and stunned by it. A truly amazing vibrant place, when you are there you continue to ask how can it exist? When you are gone you ask will it be there next time? And then there was the art. After 4 days at the Biennale looking, listening, and smelling art one is left with a lot to think about. One thing is that it becomes increasingly clear why authoritarian regimes and police states try to silence art and culture - (this includes the present UK government). The arts repeatedly speak truth to power, pointing out the governments distain for any opposition to their self-interested greed. Colonialism, representation, hierarchical thinking, craft skills. Every two years my art education is expanded, along with inspiration for the teaching I do. There is so much to mention but some stand out moments include Julien Creuzet’s extraordinary films and textile pieces in the French Pavilion. The oddly compelling opera by Wael Shawky in the Egyptian pavilion. The image of a young dead man created by using their own blood by Theresa Margolles. The haunting organ pipes held in a forest of scaffolding in the Italian Pavilion, the delicate blown glass of Michael Joo in the Korean Pavilion that celebrated their involvement in the Biennale. The beautifully slight interplay of fruit and water power generated sound, in the Japanese Pavilion. The glorious, excess of the German Pavilion. The stoic, thoughtful professionalism displayed in John Akomfrah’s work in the British Pavilion. Giant puppets displayed unconventionally with a drumming soundtrack in the Belgium Pavilion. A truly sensual dance for two people and a conjoined shirt by Kang Seung Lee. Other dance pieces one by Isaac Chong Wai about falling and a work exploring queer histories by Ahmed Umar were mesmerizing. The beautiful dialogue between Tintoretto and dyed cloth in Uruguay Pavilion by Eduardo Cardozo. The use of repetitive mark making, weaving and knit to celebrate cultures otherwise underrepresented was everywhere. Away from the Biennale the extraordinary show by Pierre Huyghe at the Punta della Dogana is full of wait-what-how moments. He has to be one of the most interesting artists making highly relevant work at the moment. The video Untitled (Human Mask) of the monkey/human abandoned in a deserted town has to be seen to be believed and let's not forget a crab 'wearing' Brancusi's head in a fish tank with floating rocks. Then there was the joining in of the mass celebration with football fans on Sunday night after their win - flares, fireworks, drums, giant flags, chanting, megaphones, utter madness. Getting boats in the dark out to Saint Helena just because you can, and of course the boat taxi from the airport channelling James Bond, quite possibly the coolest journey I ever make. The food..........can't wait to return. 

lookingaround

Went to see Asset Flip at Segar Gallery by Bob Bicknell Knight. It’s a great show, full of interesting ideas and great starting points for discussion around apocalyptic imagery. Onto screens – Civil War – yes, we are heading that way, a roadmap much like The Road is/was.

itsallgogogo

A morning of Pecha Kucha’s at Kings on the synthetic anatomy course. There were some excellent presentations covering a huge range of topics underpinned by specific anatomy and biology in plants, animals and humans. The projects are going to be most excellent. Listening to Nile Rodgers speaking with Louis Theroux on his podcast - loved the idea that the concept behind Chic that it was thought of by themselves as a support band for a hugely famous band. This meant that they had to come out and be full on. Most excellent. Went to Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art at the Barbican. A good show with some excellent examples displayed in an interesting space. Most of who you would expect are all there with some interesting work from other parts of the world. Onto screens – One Day – how can you not get emotional at all that loss? F1 - how can you not get emotional at all that excess?

translationasawayofbeing

A full day at Kings - What is gained through the process of translation? An initial idea, manifest in words focused into an equation and then made 3D in response. Following the process led to fantastical outcomes. I'm so excited to see how the projects develop and what the students eventually end up with. The afternoon was all about death and bodies - more drawing in the dissecting room. Being in the presence of so much emptiness is so odd yet strangely I seem drawn to the room and its otherness. The stacks of body parts can be disconcerting but when one part is laid out on the metal table, I feel able to focus my looking, making initial tentative marks, wanting to do 'right' in some way. Seager gallery https://www.seagergallery.com/matchmaking  has a great show of work that brings together 8 artists making work about video games, investigating the architecture of game spaces. It’s part of an ongoing series, the first of 4 shows. Onto screens - Upgraded – the usual strangers meeting on a plane etc Anyone but you – the usual strangers meet in a café etc – just finished Mr and Mrs Smith – what an ending!

morethinking

Working on a new strand of work – in a very meta way I’m projecting films of my hands manipulating the articulated structures onto 3D structures that have been developed from the initial investigation. Some breathing in – London - October Gallery - El Anatsui. Brunei Gallery at SOAS - extraordinary endeavours. British Library - treasures. Barbican Curve - Julianknxx. White Cube - Gormley. Raven Row - Lutz Bacher. Spruth Mangers - Fischli & Weiss. Sadie Coles - Diago Marcon. Vitrine - Luis Enrique Zela-Koort. Hauser and Wirth - Avery Singer. Then we have Bond Street Windows - Channel and Dior. The Gormley show is exceptional, I especially loved the realignment and size of the doorways! Onto screens – The Wolfs Call – the soundtrack is stunning, the foley artists having a ball. Freelance – were all having a ball making this film.

stuffallpiledupbutfordifferentreasons

Working on a new approach to creating 3D prints. Looking at the structural opportunities available when exploring fill without creating surfaces. I was struck by the intriguing imagery created when working with the software that you use to create the structures, ready to be printed. I use a combination of SketchUp, 3D printer and PrusaSlicer, this is then worked on in Photoshop. Using PrusaSlicer, as an image generator rather than just the software to make 3D prints. The images created explore the liminal space of the 3D experience – the image, the object, and the image of the object. It’s both there and not there. An afternoon of breathing in – 3 shows in London full of stuff all piled up but for different reasons – Keifer at White cube – piles of so much stuff piled very high and culled from a gigantic archive seemingly without much editing, Ibon Aranberri at Raven Row – piles of stuff, carefully organised after being shown in a different configuration elsewhere. RESOLVE Collective at the Curve Barbican – piles of stuff, piled up after the artist’s felt disparaged by the systems the work sat within. 3 piles of stuff all piled up but for different reasons.  Onto screens - Master gardener – theatrical slightly all-over the place. Beau is afraid – a terrifying insight into a terrified mind. Was about to give up on Barry around the beginning of season 2 when the blood and brutality was getting all too much but so glad to of worked through that as season 4 was gloriously excellent – the tonal shift from dark humour to almost cartoon was genius and the culmination in episode 8 was so clever, the writing had me unsure of everything as the story spun off into several realities, often at once.

relentlesslyrelentless

Experiments with the 3D printer have yielded some new work where straight lines enclose the structures – sometimes intersecting sometimes containing. Where the two structural boundaries interface some interesting shapes are created. Day one of work with students on the synthetic anatomy module – some excellent philosophical questions emerged from the bridge building session – I feel that it’s going to be a good one this year. Managed to see  Rebel Rebel - the show at the Barbican Curve by Soheila Sokhanvari is so considered. The overall design is impressive with a couple of astounding objects that present moving images in intriguing ways. Onto screens - Emancipation - a relentlessly 2D storyline. The Pale Blue Eye – so relentlessly dull that I gave up after 20 minutes! The Old Way – was relentlessly obvious.

foodartandmorefood

There is a great show at Messums in Cork St of one of the current strands of Laurence Edwards body of work. It focuses on an interesting public art project where the heads of former miners are being modelled and cast in bronze for a proposed piece in the centre of Doncaster. I love the original waxes they are full of movement and energy and genuinely seem to be alive. I'm clearing shelves in my studio, getting rid of stuff that no longer makes sense to have in my life, mainly materials and expired technology no longer needed but I found the notes from the first book makers conference organised by Stefan Szczelkum which was a moment of odd time travel for me. click to go to a powerpoint link to see what we were doing in 1993. https://www.slideshare.net/secret/z5E5tJGV4wlC1A

on a short weekend break to Sète in the South of France in between eating some extraordinary food I slotted in a visit to see apres a multi-part exhibition by Eric Baudelaire at CRAC. It was a mixed show that included some interesting work of other artists to build context for a long community project - it was good to see the work of The Gorilla Art Action Group and some early video work including  John Akomafrah's Handsworth songs with dub cinema and Partially Buried by Renee Green which explored ideas around loss and nostalgia. back to the food Sète  like most of France has specific speciality - this area has Tielle - an octopus pie - https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tielle  truly wonderful.   

everythingisfarce

one man two guvrnors is a farce - as a genre I really cannot stand farce - I went to see one man two guvrnors at the New Wolsey in Ipswich - I hated it....obviously - But I was surrounded by people really enjoying themselves - so it must be ok? Was the audience laughing with rather than at - the 'useless' old people and 'nice but dim sexually excessive' women ........maybe I lacked the irony recognition needed to get it.

went to see the Kara Walker at The Tate - unsure what I think so I will have to go back and spend more time. Dan Vo at South London Gallery had some positive moments - the sculptures for me were the most interesting work, especially the one in the Fire Station.  He had also chosen some intriguing pieces to show together, it is always a pleasure to see Serrano's Immersion (Piss Christ)...while looking at the work in the South London Gallery Fire Station in Gallery 4 by Felix Gonzalez Torres, Untitled (Portrait of Julie Ault) - I found myself thinking about the idea of important moments and the book art family tree concept we are presenting next week at Camberwell as part of Symposium 1.

http://www.contemporaryartdaily.com/2016/11/felix-gonzalez-torres-untitled-portrait-of-julie-ault-1991/ meanwhile timetabling at Camberwell 'old skool' is complete.

onandonandon

Transference, the show at Halesworth Gallery has a couple of days left to check out - based on inviting artist's to work with dry transfer lettering.  Enjoying some great parking at Luton airport lately - The City and The City by China Mieville was checked by Ralph Rugoff, Curator of the 58th Venice Biennale in his forward to the exhibition May You Live in Interesting Times. It features two separate cities that occupy the same space simultaneously with areas that can be seen from both with the idea of training yourself in the act of unseeing and unknowing. A book full of ideas but a little lacking in characters. meanwhile deep into Urban myths - a great series exploring moments in popular culture that may or may not of happened - a must see https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6413094/  

Backstage at Live Aid, Public Enemy (feach Kev Wells), Bob Dylan; Knockin on Dave's Door and Hitler the Artist are winners.

wanderingaroundandlooking

A busy week of teaching - completing assessments, a bonding with fabrics, sublimation and rubber workshop and feedback tutorials at NUA. For OCA I ran a writing workshop where we began to talk about how to write about work, specifically looking at our relationship to making and the work. Friday was mostly spend in a 4 hour meeting at The Bookartbookshop in Hoxton, (a gem of a place) thrashing out a plan with Tanya, with much tea, for the next phase of the MA Book Art course at Camberwell - lots of guest speakers and more group crits and opportunities to discus our work. Despite its context - that of closing - the course is experiencing some good work as it drives off a cliff into being taught out to its demise. During a fantasy artwork seminar this week we rethought the Grand Tour for the Internet Generation - using Google Earth and instructions to send each other around the world from the comfort of our phone screens. #someofmybestteachingistakingplace. Other work includes being invited to run an Artists Book surgery at The Tetley in Leeds as part of PAGES and its New Voices project and running master class workshops with The Design Crafts course at Middlesex University. Both of which will be interesting opportunities and I'm really pleased to be part of their worlds.

At the weekend a quick jaunt around some east end galleries to check out this years edition of Condo http://www.condocomplex.org/london/ - where galleries give their spaces to galleries from around the world - some interesting work in mixed shows - Andrew Bick at Hales Gallery was a graphic geometric feast and I enjoyed the knitted maps and dictionaries at Flowers East. Whilst walking around the back streets I came across some magnificent examples of smoking architecture - buildings built as a result of the smoking ban for the express purposes of smoking.

longweekendofartinfrance

Arriving in Marseille the first thing to do is head to the marina to our favourite restaurant xxx for soup d poisson. After that the day was all about the wonderful space that is la Friche one of my top 10 places to see stuff. The spaces held 3 shows - Planetoyenes - some interesting video work, Biomorphisme - a show that had as its core intention to show work influenced by the organic. Some beautiful pieces exploring the maths of nature. Finally Chroniques a digital arts biennale - it’s always a good selection of work and the standout pieces this time were a video by Renata Poljak where Croatian women walked to be reunited with their men who had left for South America but with the water between them it’s a journey of pain. The beautiful footage of floating clothes took you straight to refugees. There was also an extraordinary piece where  scale models of decimated cities were created using imagery derived from drone footage. This footage was then shows on screens and inserted into ‘breaking news’ feeds - truth and lies were all around us. 

Bernar Venet at MAC in Lyon was a mixed bag. A huge retrospective of his entire life but it was obvious that very little editing had taken place as it was so full of work. You could of taken away 1/2 and still cover all the different ideas he has worked in. The last floor of his monumental steel ‘line’ sculptures had the best work and these alone could of filled the whole 3 floors of the building. Imprints-Galerie in Crest had Assemblages - a beautiful body of work by Herman Ardila Delgado. It was a luxury to spend 3 days with them. 

I have waited 20 years to see Courbusiers masterpiece La Tourette. The visit to the monastery has left a tremendous impression on me. The building is a real triumph. There is a calm stillness that is embedded in every decision. From the detail which include ‘floating’ surfaces and modular rhythmic lines to the overall use of shuttering and huge walls enabling moments of revelation. The body is both stimulated and restful. you are channelled by the materials yet able to find deep inner peace. Grounded and elevated. It was so wonderful to be introduced by Matthew and Isobel to Frere Marc who was a graceful host allowing us to see spaces closed to the general public beyond and within the walls. My many questions were entertained and answered with lightness enabling a rich understanding. Just the material choices themselves were truly thrilling. I could of spent days in the chapel watching the light change but we had to leave to buy boudain noir for the next days breakfast. 

Reply All podcast 130 has stunningly disturbing information about OG Snapchat accounts and cyber hacking - you will be angry and fearful whilst considering your own engagement with social media security.

hanginghangingmoreandmorestuff

So after the private view at NUA, which I think went well. I thought the space was excellent but I had little feedback and you never know if you are pleasing everybody/anybody - students/parents/family/staff/academics/industry and past/present/future/prospective/proto students, it has been a week in London - Tuesday hanging work at the Business Design Centre for the BA Textile Design students at New Designers and then Friday was being in the space at the show talking with 'independent designers' rather than students, although the transition is awkward for both sides, watching individuals taking responsibility is always interesting to observe. The work and stand look ok and as ever New Designers is gloriously overwhelming and every second or first year student who is serious about being a designer should go to experience the awe and fear that is seeing the work of people who have worked harder, make more work and will try and are setting out to try and take your job. I'm always a little stunned when a persons first time at New Designers is when they exhibit.

Wednesday and Thursday was all about curating and supporting the students work for the MA Book Art Exhibition at Camberwell.  

http://events.arts.ac.uk/event/2018/7/12/Camberwell-MA-Visual-Arts-Summer-Show-2018/ The show is very specific and focused with each student developing a truly individual body of work that they own from initial research to the final pieces. Whilst supporting the hanging of the Book Art I noticed some interesting printmaking worth seeing. The shows will look great - the private view for the MA is on the 12th put it in your diaries, its always a roadblock so maybe come the following day to see the work, although that is the day of the Anti Trump march so you might be busy. 

Saw the textiles and sculpture degree shows at The Royal College - textiles had lots of interesting material exploration well displayed and sculpture was full of stuff. 

Went to the Barbican to see the truly fabulous Taylor Mac: a 24 decade History of Popular Music. It was chaotically beautiful, engaging, great fun with full-on gently serious politics - I loved Taylor's take on fear and disgust and the general desire of the audience to get on with each other, to support and share. A marvellous great night out - cant wait for the 24 hour version. https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/reviews/taylor-mac-24-decade-history-popular-music-barbican_46983.html

Read this at a friends house in a book about Pompeii - seems apt.

Now the crickets pierce the thickets with their repetitive cry, now even the speckled lizard takes shelter in the coolness. If you are wise, lie back and make a libation with summer-weight glassware, or, if you wish, we'll bring out the new goblets of crystal. Come, you are weary, rest in the grape and bind your heavy head with a chaplet of roses. Cull kisses from a tender maid. Forget about those who raise old-fashioned eyebrows! Why keep fragrant garlands for ungrateful ashes? Do you want your bones to lie under a garland-carved stone? Set out the wine and the dice. To hell with him who cares for the morrow. Death plucks your ear and says 'Live now, for I am on my way!'

lifeworklifeanda#proundparentmoment

well a busy couple of weeks and we are still in it - assessments on the Textile Design at nua was smooth with some wonderful work -  the show at nua is almost up - we have built an extraordinary series of structures, creating an environment  to show off the work to its best - I've been north working on the assessment for OCA on the MA Fine Art Course and staying in the Premier Inn in Barnsley, there was some really excellent thinking underpinning great work. The next two years graduation shows could potentially be wondrous. The Degree Show Private View at Chelsea was gloriously old school - a packed space of randomly dressed individuals all enjoying being there - some excellent textiles and of course fine art - highlight was a #proundparent moment - Bob Bicknell-Knight. meanwhile A very English Scandal https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p065sk93 was tragically funny but I spent most of the time marvelling over Hugh Grants stunning performance. I got to see Solo - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3778644/ wonderfully geeky - with something for everyone - great back story infilling alongside swashbuckling set pieces. Christopher Brett Bailey https://christopherbrettbailey.com/  was the standout session at Pulse 18 last weekend - I cannot recommend him enough - I think this was my 5th outing and he just gets better. Meanwhile Snape Festival had a new opera - a kind of brutalist Jacques Tati set in a Kafkaesque modern space with a nod to the Truman show aesthetics. The Appalachian Spring session by the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Huw Watkins on the piano and conducted by Oliver Knussen was viseral. Playing Coplands Music for a Great City, The world premiere of The Book of Ingenious Devices by Philip Cashian, Feldman Structures and Coplands joyous Appalachian Spring one was swept away. On the way to see the Pavillion next to the Serpentine Gallery ..............I bumped into Christon next to the Christo in the Serpentine which was and which is fantastic and worth seeing offline.

brainpowermakingbrains

I checked out the latest show at Annka Kultys Gallery which is by Bob Bicknell-Knight and all about how the internet is both presenting, mirroring and simultaneously driving us all to hell. Meanwhile the steep learning curve that is 3D printing is going well. I managed to print a brain with the two colour printer where the foundation struts are a different colour. The imagery within the program is probably more interesting that the actual objects, although there is an abstract magic around making real the virtual which I am sure I will never fail to be amused/amazed by. In the drawing workshop I redrew and then printed a 3D version using the medical scanning software of a blind-left-hand-15-second-drawing (yes the drawing workshop was a wonderful 'oldskool' art school session). Which was odd and infused with possibilities.

So this happened - on Saturday night I found myself walking away from an art auction for Bank arts in Eye with an Abigail Lane print! Meanwhile wonder http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2543472/ is truly beautiful and heart wrenchingly, obvious and a well worn journey but still quite lovely.