Darkness and light

What in hells bells is going on here you may ask? Well, it’s art daaahling. Or rather a picture of what we had to put on our feet waiting to go into the Ryoji Ikeda exhibition at 180 The Strand a few weeks ago. Sexy, non? Hilarious that we had to wear white overshoes rather than the not quite cool enough blue ones (and let’s not get into the flippin’ insane amounts of single use plastics we’ve been going through as a planet in the past 16 months). Ahem.

This gal certainly got the monochrome memo (actually I’m just remembering that I wore black and white too, haha). So, unusually for an exhibition you could take pictures with phones but NOT with a DSLR. I’ve never come across that distinction before, and it made me feel a bit cheated, but good girl that I am I complied.

So what the hells bells is going on here you may ask - again. Ikeda’s works are mainly a combination of digital and sound work, and here we’re looking at monitors with graphics moving up and down them.

And here we had to walk through a section that was lit by bright fluorescent tubes. As we went through we tried to look up and keep our eyes open but it was impossible, our eyes just kept shutting. So weird to have your body involuntarily do something that you were definitely trying to the opposite of.

I don’t take Oomoo on as many exhibitions as I used to as he doesn’t seem that interested, but I’ll go back with him to this one.

At this point I got a bit miffed and broke the rules and used my proper camera. You can’t always be a good girl.

D looking into the light.

In the main room, with three screens showing all sorts of amazingness.

Close up of a screen.

180 The Strand is a repurposed office block that has become an art venue. I’ve seen several exhibitions here, and none of them have used the same layout or used the same rooms. You always have to walk through it differently. Must be a dream to curate in.

This section was extremely photogenic, so it deserves two pictures.

It’s so strange to not be able to show what any of this actually is like as it’s not static like the pictures make it out to be, but actually quite intense, as the graphics move very fast and the sound that goes with it very loud. This film clip explains it way better and gives you an idea of how intense (and clever) a Ryoji Ikeda exhibition actually is. WARNING: CONTAINS STROBING

I like how this group of fellow visitors look like they’ve been choreographed to all do the same thing at the same time - apart from the guy on the right of course. If you find yourself in London before the 18th of September - GO GO GO! If not, keep an eye out for an Ikeda exhibition near you in the future - it’s worth waiting for.

Feelin' hot hot hot

It’s been hot here for the past few days I tell ya! We’ve also just come out of self-isolation as Omar’s class bubble finally burst, just a mere two days before school was out. They had such a good run of it though. I just hope he gets to start Upper School in person and not online, but I feel a fourth lockdown heading our way very soon. Please let me be wrong (although, of course, if that’s what has to happen that is what has to happen). Yet again time will tell. As always. Ha.

Marylebone

I’ve been keeping up my architecture walks. In fact I think it’s the only lockdown habit that I’ve kept. Another neighbourhood friend, H, that moved out of London during Covid, came back to London for the day to walk around Marylebone a few weeks ago (I know, the blog is eternally not live, haha) so we could let our eyes wander. This building looks like it used to be a church, but it didn’t look like one from the front at all. Well, apart from JC standing there in between the windows.

It was a hot day and it still felt weird to see people about. I’m finally used to it now.

Marylebone is not my favourite ‘hood (it’s too Beverly Hills for me), but there are some cool buildings there. This is Chiltern Street, which is very symmetrical, unlike my picture. It doesn’t feel like London to me, maybe exactly for that reason, because the houses are actually identical for a whole block, without any buildings having been knocked down or bombed in amongst them. It’s a great shopping street if you have mucho dineros. It’s a street you walk past if you don’t.

Don’t think I’ve ever seen this colour on a large Victorian apartment block before. I might steal it when the time comes to redo the exterior of our house.

Now that’s a really flipping cool street light. Surely it’s original? It’s huge!

Some Victorian mansion blocks squared off by a Georgian one.

On my bike ride home I cycled along the Outer Circle of Regent’s Park, and past the Danish Church, and this 200 year old Neo Gothic building that’s part of the grounds. I’m so glad I came out of the lockdowns not wanting to move, because London feels like the gift that won’t stop giving. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look.

It's a Suffolk thing

So many of our friends have left London over the years, and last summer our peeps SA and Y packed up their London life and moved to Suffolk. It had been on the cards for years but Covid sped things up. A few weeks ago we finally got to go for an overnight visit, and it was so nice to see them and their kids again. We began our stay with a no-cook lunch - the best kind of lunch.

Since we saw them last summer there’s been a new addition to the family - Ruby.

She and Mr Famapa became friends immediately.

Even though he lost her ball.

Digression. Don’t know what these are, but they were pretty.

In the early evening we went for delicious pizzas at @theshedsframlingham and the super relaxed setting was just perfect.

So crazy that our kids are or are close to becoming teenagers. Seeing how much this young lady has changed in the past year is quite something. It’s Oomoo’s turn soon (well, not that soon, we’re 18 months away…). Gulp.

One middle aged lady with a camera was enjoying the planting very much.

Very much.

After the meal some chose to digest their meal playing football.

Nut jobs.

We were incredibly lucky with the weather; this summer has been British to say the least. Maybe it’s a Brexit thing? Luckily the fire pit at SA and Y’s made it possible for us to continue sitting outside for the rest of the evening.

What you looking at Ruby?

Whatever it was - a cuddle was even better.

Y going in to get provisions.

It got late.

Click click. We started playing the Intro Game where you have to guess the song from the first beat of the intro. SA and I were very good, and I may say so myself. It’s amazing that you can recognise a song in a second or two. Of course we’re talking 80’s and 90’s music here. We didn’t attempt any songs from after then.

The fire had me mesmerised in between.

Day 2. How’s this for a conservatory/dining room? Drool.

It was way too hot to sit in though.

Had a look through SA’s interior books, and this portrait of an elderly couple in the Apartamento book, made me fast forward a few decades - I really like her style.

Stop Hammock time.

Summer and friends are the best.

Hope we get to see them again soon.