Another Day in London
Rather a lot of pack in for one day. I also wanted to get to St. Paul's to see the
protesters...
So, the day began with a quick trip to the Mall Galleries. As I walked to them from Embankment, I noticed a very long queue of people. "Ah!" I thought, "must be for Leonardo"... that it was. I have never seen such a large queue... I have to say everyone was very polite. I was hoping to go into Leonardo later on. I knew it would be busy, but my staff card lets me in straight away so I get to bypass the queues. This can be great - a perk of the job, but this morning I just couldn't bring myself to jump the queue when so many others were waiting patiently. In the end I decided to go to Leonardo on a day when I felt more rebellious and bolshy.
It's the first time I have been to the Mall Galleires and I was a bit disappointed if I am honest. Still it is good for me to have seen it. I was expecting something larger and I didn't see why someone had to pay the admission fee if they just wanted to use the café. Personally it seems to me like they need to re-arrange the galleries so that this can be done.
Then I popped into
St. Martin in the Fields whilst waiting for a friend, and in front of
Shirazeh Houshiary's east window Zoya Shuhatovich was playing Chopin. "Brilliant" I thought. I had been meaning to go to St. Martin's for ages, and I finally made it by accident, and even managed to time it with a lunchtime concert. Bingo! It was truly beautiful and I recommend these little lunchtime concerts whole heartedly. They ask for a small donation, which is really rather nice of them not to charge. I hope to go to their candle lit evening concerts this winter. I am currently thinking of
Handel's Messiah...
Inside St. Martin in the Fields by candle light
After a cup of tea and an apple strudel with my friend Richard, I trekked onwards to the British Museum for Grayson Perry's
'The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman'. Again, my staff pass lets me in... sadly though, the booking system at the British Museum meant that they would not let me in at that current time. Maybe another day Grayson...? I do hope so, as even though I wasn't impressed with the difficulty in getting to the exhibition, I have heard that it is a great show. From what I understand, it's just my sort of thing... an exploration into relationships between the objects in the British Museum collection and those of his own. An exhibition that travels time and space, from culture to culture. Sounds amazing.
The Rosetta Vase, 2011 by Grayson Perry
A little disappointed, I then walked onwards to the Wellcome Trust, who had an interesting exhibition on show about curiosities and charms, which had been recommended to me by a friend of mine,
Morag MacInnes. I was really impressed. I thought
the 'Infinitas Gracias: Mexican miracle paintings' were beautiful. I liked the way that there were lots of them, which gave you that impression of a shrine. These small paintings are usually executed on small plaques and depict the moment of personal humility when an individual asks a saint for help and is delivered from disaster (usually death). Room upon room, there they all were. I have to admit, I could imagine that some people would find it a bit repetitive after seeing twenty, but as a collection I thought they worked really well together. The exhibition explored the reaction of individuals during a time of crisis in which their strength of faith came into play, reminding me of how delicate life is. This, for me, seriously put our own 'environmental-financial crisis' into perspective, but at the same time it seemed rather apt. This exhibition left me with a feeling of hope and I noticed that there was a collective healing experience going on the spaces. An empathetic presence.
I thank our Lord Saint Francis of Assisi for saving us from drowning on 27 October 1962. (Monterrey, Nuevo León).
Oil on tin, 1962. Propiedad del Santuario de San Francisco de Asís de la Diócesis de Matehuala, SLP, México/INAH
The other exhibition at the Wellcome Trust was '
Charmed Life'. This exhibition was curated by Felicity Powell and featured some 400 amulets from Henry Wellcome's vast collection. The amulets, ranging from simple coins to meticulously carved shells, dead animals to elaborately fashioned notes, were amassed by the banker Edward Lovett, who scoured London by night, buying curious objects.
Hazelnut with copper mount and wire link at the top for attaching to a chain or similar.
Courtesy Pitt Rivers Museum [1985.51.195]
"I do not know of any object which for its size enjoys such a reputation as the acorn. I do not allude so much to the natural object, which when ripe falls from the cup and thus loses its character. I refer to the acorn design, which is so widely met with and made in so many different materials." Edward Lovett, 'Magic in Modern London', p. 63
Carved horn acorn in two pieces, containing a bell. Used as an amulet against lightning.
Courtesy Pitt Rivers Museum [1985.51.269]
I thought this exhibition was thoughtfully presented - sympathetic to the objects themselves. Such a marvellous array of odd things, which were screaming at me to be held, touched, and kept close, as they were many years ago. What I loved was that although each amulet on display had long been separated from its wearer, collectively they still formed a repository for anxieties, reassurances and superstitions. Alongside Lovett's amulets was a series Powell's intricate
wax miniatures. I thought these were wonderfully delicate - they had that ethereal quality like the charms close by. The wax had been touched and moulded lovingly with
Powell's digits (link to video). This quote sums up the wax work very well: 'Like Lovett's amulets, they seem to be more than themselves, hinting at a hidden magic at work, as they dip between real and imagined worlds'.
Detail from one of Felicity Powells wax artworks
Feeling rather uplifted from that exhibition, I decided to call it a day. I went to Intaglio's to get some printing ink, and then homeward bound. I am really gutted that I didn't get to St. Paul's. I have already been to the camp site and there is such a great collective vibe there (now they have a
new library). I guess the Wellcome Collection filled the void that needed filling for me that day.
The Alleyway were you can find 'Intaglio's':
9 Playhouse Court off Southwark Bridge Road
Inside Intaglio Printmaker's, my favourite printing shop
Work tomorrow... and some sketchbook work.
Many thanks London for a great day!
