Philippe Parreno

This was perhaps one of the most interesting video gallery experience I have ever had. In the Serpentine gallery, there are 4 rooms with each room showing a short clip by Philippe Parreno. As soon as one movie ends, the blinds come up allowing daylight to wash in and a clip in the next room begins and was the same pattern on a non-stop cycle. The titles of the clips were 'The boy from mars' which created a heavy atmosphere what with the rain and sudden changes in scenes, 'June 8, 1968' was about people staring unmoving unblinking at a passing train, 'No more reality' was more about sounds rather than video and the chanting and protests of young children could be heard repeating the same line over and over again. Lastly was 'Invisible boy' where a young boy living alone in a very dirty apartment in China. Creatures appear in a Dr. Suess-like quality with dramatic music and sneak up on the boy, turning him into one of their own. Photography was not allowed so these are sneak shots.

Adapters from all over the world connected together to connect the world.

Barclays Cycle Hire

These bicycles are a new addition to London's public spaces. Encouraging a greener way to move, these pay as you go bike kiosks are located in various areas around london along with a map to tell you where the next nearest one is and what sites are in the vicinity.

                                         Someone using the bike!

Anish Kapoor- snow view

Just wanted to see the effect of the structure surrounded by snow. It was quite hard to spot from a distance since it's camouflaged by its silver and white environment.

Enchanted Woodland

An Intimate Geography

An intimate geography is about the social taboos found in the middle east. From young women covering their hair yet revealing flesh, tattoos, the dominance of men over women, even wearing a ballet outfit in public streets. All these are brought up and challenged with a bit of role reversal and a touch of humour applied to some.

Down the plug-hole!

This was not what I thought it would be, the whole experience was a let down. When I first saw the advertisement, I thought we would be gaining access to a real sewer pipe to see what actually happens down there. When it turned out to be a makeshift one overground, it did not seem like a total loss except that it ended up having no electricity. That meant that not only was it very difficult to read the information signs due to it being very dark inside, none of the various electronic information devices worked! Very poor maintenance. 

Jerwood Space Gallery

An interesting wall mural livens up an empty street with outlines of people.

                                                    Printed aluminium figures

These are the remains of an empty industrial plot in Barcelona that was drilled and hacked to create a contorted surface in order to drive away 60 gypsy families that had taken up residence there.

                                         Video showing various undeveloped sites in Africa.

A very clever device for the trafficlight outside of Southwark Station, it informs pedestrians crossing the street how many seconds they have left to cross the road. This is especially excellent for those that like to take a risk and run across a blinking green man rather than wait the extra few minutes. More of these should be installed!

Failed Lecture

The guest speaker supposed to give a talk today in the Penryn Road Theatre ended up as a no show. What a disappointment.

Illustrator Practice Part 2