Exhibition: People in London

Free Exhibition
8th September - 17th October 2014

Richard Slater's book

Last week, I went to a photographic exhibition entitled ‘People in London’ by Richard Slater at the Royal Geographical Society. It showcases photos without pretence about – well – people in London. The photos are straightforward and realistic without any effects, lens flare or the occasional macro. It is just life, fully pixelated life. It’s #nofilter if you speak Instagram.

The name of the exhibition couldn’t be more accurate – because it is like the exhibition, a simple sober description without judgment or categorisation. These aren’t Londoners or People from London. This sober realism is what makes the exhibition so powerful.

Similarly a short note, speaking about the people and places depicted, accompanies each photograph. The style of these descriptions startled me at first. They were bare, purely descriptive, no sense of poetry or use of sophisticated language. Like Slater's pictures they just tell things as they are. It took me a while until I understood that this was how they should be. The pictures and their descriptions don’t pretend, they are real and simple as life. There is no intent to embellish them. I ended up reading every single note, as I grew fascinated and was curious what each and everyone of them had to said.

Richard Slater spent five years recording his view of London, along five categories with a bonus uncategorised ‘London Surprises’ which was my favourite. Also - listen out for the London sounds!

You can definitely feel Slater’s love for the city as he draws a contemporary portrait of the people that make the ever-changing smoggy place that London is.

Disobedient Objects at the V&A - free exhibition

The Victoria and Albert Museum currently hosts a free exhibition called ‘Disobedient Objects’. The exhibition showcases objects that have been used in protests and for social movements; you may ask - what does that have to do with design? A lot, in fact. All the collected objects tell a story of how an object was created, or recycled in many cases, to serve a purpose in a social movement between the 1970s and now. It demonstrates the innovation and creativity of people, how rudimentary elements can be taken to create something so meaningful. The obvious things I thought of before visiting were banners and posters, which are often proof of creativity and wit, but there are so many more things in the exhibition that tell fascinating stories.

What caused one of the biggest disconnects for me, were the textiles created by Chilean women to protest against the dictatorship, sometimes hiding messages in the back of the work. The authorities dismissed it as folk art, oblivious to the daring message. Later in the 90s these techniques were taken up by protests in Ireland against the Iraq war. Indeed, the great connectedness of our time helps social movements to learn from each other. Instructions manuals on how to protest, what to do in case of an arrest and also how to create objects like homemade tear-gas mask were another example of it. A manual that appeared in Egypt 2011, was found translated in the 2013 Ukraine protests.

Signs and symbols are also part of the exhibition, explaining the story of the SILENCE=DEATH banner used in early AIDS protests, as well as re-use of symbols across protests. On one side of the exhibition room, you can see giant inflatable cobblestones hanging from the ceiling, which were used in protests in Berlin, reusing this symbol of protest, which for me very much evokes the French Revolution. Make sure to watch the short film on the big screen to see a policeman struggle to deflate the giant cobblestone.

These are just a few examples that stood out for me and I hope will give you a taste of what the exhibition is about, to go and discover it for yourself!

I would recommend going at a time when it isn’t that busy – the V&A is open until 10pm on Fridays, which for me was the best time!

Let me know how you find it!

My London Diaries

I have recently moved to London - and I feel that I could not give London any justice by writing one or two blogposts. Therefore I decided to write a different category of posts called 'London Diaries', in order to share some of the things, places and happenings I discover in the capital!

I have another motivation to start this series of posts: I was having a really tough time adapting to London - I moved here for the 'dream job' and work is definitely an incredible opportunity, yet my partner, who I lived with, is now two hours away on the train; while I also have a hard time to accept the overcrowdedness, the pollution, the time it takes to get anywhere and of course the exorbitant prices.

I think by recording my good experiences in London it will give you some information about what there is to do in London, but it will also help me like - maybe even fall in love with - this city!

So, London, this one's for you, because I think you deserve a second chance!

Essex Tales

In the past two weeks I've been exploring one of the most talked about counties in the UK. Beyond the general stereotype of the 'Essex girl' with which I had been confronted with when I first came to the UK, I decided to also watch the infamous TOWIE (The Only Way is Essex) as part of my 'research into the local culture'. In all fairness I got quite bored with it and it didn't teach me much... So rather I felt it to be my duty to write about my experience here, in case you also relied on these stereotypes.

Romford Market Place

 It's market day in Romford, there is a soft and constant drizzle and a man is sheltered under a roof, playing a gloomy melody on his trumpet, occasionally water splashes from the tarpaulin that covers the market stands. Romford being a historic Markettown, shopping is obviously the local sport. I surrendered and am quite thrilled to explore the various malls, which are definitely confusing for the foreign visitor. As I get out of the shopping centre, I hold on tight to my shopping bags, keeping my head down as it seems the rain just got heavier. I can't help but notice the footwear of the locals. Half of people, though mostly women, are wearing flipflops or Birkenstock. Some less crazy ones are wearing sandals... and here I am, wondering why anyone would look out of the window, see the grey sky and think that flipflops would be a good idea. But really, what I should admire is the people's immune systems. If my Mum saw me wear open shoes in such weather, she would run after me with a frying pan threatening me into changing into sensible trainers or boots, because I would otherwise catch pneumonia... and I'm rather inclined to believe her.

But I am being slightly unfair here, because I have actually really enjoyed my stay in Romford. I was lucky enough to find a home in Collier Row, a bit outside the city centre and rather near the countryside. The weather has been really nice ( it even went beyond 30°C -God bless swimming pools), much nicer than the climate I know from Birmingham. And also, green spaces are only a short walk away, the number of parks is just incredible. With my bike I explored the surroundings and quickly found myself in the middle of fields, literally surrounded only by fields. Here is a picture that in my opinion represents Essex well: two horses in the middle of field and in the distance you can see the London skyline. 

It's the countryside, half an hour away from the big smoke. And although I like London and its seemingly uncountable opportunities for entertainment, food; drink, culture and intellectual exchange, I realised when I was coming back from a day out there last week, that I really appreciated the peace and quiet in Essex. - Maybe I'm just getting old?

Havering-atte-Bower