29/11/2009 by bakary.

How it is by Miroslaw Balka is the latest controversial exhibit from the Unilever seried at Tate Modern.

‘Like its predecessors, it it innovative, bold and challenging‘, says Tate Modern.

You’re invited to walk into a huge container, where you are supposedly engulfed by darkness. A fun thing to do? A way of confronting your fears (do you want to walk into the unknow)? A disappointment?

The container is 1000 x 1300 x 3000. Walking into it for the first time is disconcerting. You can’t quite see. Figures are coming towards you. You don’t know when you’re going to reach the end. Are you in danger of hurting yourself or others?

Once you’ve reached the end, you realise that in fact it’s not totally dark. The best thing however is watching people entering the container, dark forms against the light.

I came out and left it a few minutes before going in again. Shouldn’t have done that. You can quite repeat the first experience. It’s not as dark the second time round and you are aware of where the end is.

Still… it’s fun and a bit disorientating at first.

How it is by Miroslaw Balka is on at Tate Modern until 5 April 2010. FREE.

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28/11/2009 by bakary.

True to form, I made it to the British Museum on 22 November… on what was the last day of The Power of the Dogu exhibition.

I must admit knowing nothing about ancient Japan or Dogu. But I’d seen a review of the exhibition and found these small ceramic statues attractive and intriguing.

They are crude, simple representations of the human form. Some clearly represent fertility and could have been intended to help secure safe childbirth. Other were found buried next to infants; child mortality being rife at the time. A few are known to have been buried in the community ground when it was time to abandon the village, suggesting a nomadic lifestyle.

Embellished and decorated, plain and crude. Whatever they are, these stunning clay statues are truly fascinating and I guess part of the attraction is not knowing for certain what their purposes were.

One of the reviews I recently read suugested that influences of the Dogu can be found in the work of artists like Picasso and Ernst. I can see that. I can also see that they are not dissimilar to wooden statues used in rituals in Africa. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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28/11/2009 by bakary.

Elephants are everywhere…

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20/11/2009 by bakary.

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16/11/2009 by bakary.

Elephants are everywhere…

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13/11/2009 by bakary.

Welcome to the September 2009 Tube map.

You’re probably aware of what a massive PR crisis this has been for Transport for London.

Normal service will resume with the next edition of the map we’re told. You know… maps with a river running through the city. Maps with South and North London clearly demarcated. Maps with zones so you know which tickets to purchase. Maps… which make sense.

Bet you the bright spark which came up with riverless London isn’t a Londoner. I bet you. They can’t be.

Anyway, I digress… the best thing about the controversial map is its cover, designed by our favourite artist, Richard Long:

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11/11/2009 by bakary.

 Elephants are everywhere…

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10/11/2009 by bakary.

Too early to mention the top destinations for 2010?

I hear Germany’s the place to be next year. Be there before the crowd gets there type thing… and hosting the World Cup obviously means that tourism to South Africa will be boosted too.

Anyone heard of any other tipped destinations?

Me… well, I’ll keep plugging at my list of top five destinations I’d most like to visit…

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01/11/2009 by bakary.

Elephants are everywhere…

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