David Shrigley's Life Model II

Last post I mentioned that Brighton Fringe is happening, but May is also the month of Brighton Festival! This year's guest director is David Shrigley, and there's currently an exhibition of his piece Life Model II at Fabrica (one of my favourite galleries!)

The main feature of this exhibition is a huge female mannequin of slightly 'off' proportions, and the gallery is set up to resemble a life-drawing class. There are easels, beanbags and chairs available, and visitors are invited to use the materials provided to draw the mannequin (who periodically blinks with an audible click). The drawings are then stuck to the walls around the gallery.

I have to say I didn't expect to end up drawing a naked mannequin when I stepped into the gallery, but it's always fun when exhibitions have some kind of immersive or interactive feature--something Fabrica's exhibitions are very good at!

Alas, I cannot draw...

Inside the Fringe

It's Brighton Fringe time of year, and alongside all the awesome paid events, there's a ton of free ones, including art and photography exhibitions!

So when I went shopping this week, I happened upon Inside the Fringe, an exhibition of photographs by James Bellorini.

This exhibition, which is at Brighton Station (on the walkway between the platforms and the car park) comprises of a series of portraits that feature the many talents of some of the participants of this year's fringe.

Each portrait came with a little bio for the subject, including which shows you can see them in this time around!
I didn't take many pictures, because there were a lot of people walking back and forth, and it feels a bit weird to take photos of someone else's photos!
But I enjoyed seeing the different portraits, and appreciated the variation of styles and lighting used.
These portraits represent a good cross-section of the people involved in Brighton Fringe, and show how diverse both the people and the events are.

Walking With Llamas

Last Sunday, a group of us went to the Llama Park and walked llamas!

We went for my birthday, as it's been something I wanted to do for ages (mainly because I can).

I walked a llama named Dave. He likes food. A lot. (Me too Dave!)

There were six or seven llamas in our walking group, and about ten people--all there to celebrate birthdays! The route went across the llama park and into the grounds of a neighbouring hotel, which the park has an agreement with for doing the walks.
It was pretty muddy, but the area is nice and there were several stops for feeding the llamas and taking pictures.

(Excuse my squinty laughing face). Dave hugely enjoyed his carrots. But he also liked grass. Lots of grass.

It was a fun morning out, finished off with lunch at the Llama Park's cafe.

I can now tick another goal off The List:

018. Walk a llama

It was certainly a novel experience!