Victoria and Albert Museum

View from the John Madejski Garden

A few weeks ago, a friend and I went into London to have a nose around the Victoria & Albert Museum. Entry is free, and it's really easy to get to because it has its own exit from one of the tube stations!

There's so much to see that it would be impossible to sum it all up in one post (or even to properly take it all in during one visit!) but here are a few highlights...

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.

British Museum

Yesterday I trawled up to London to go to the British Museum with Ann, my awesome manager (and history buff). I'd been thinking of going to the museum but wasn't keen on going there alone, so was grateful when Ann jumped in and offered to come along--thank you!

We looked mostly at Ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts, though briefly breezed through Assyria too!

Of course, it's impossible to go to the British Museum without seeing the Rosetta Stone (if you can see past the crowds around it). This was brought to the museum in 1802 and became key to deciphering hieroglyphs!

Another piece that is impossible to miss is this fragment of a statue of Ramesses II, which came from his Ramesseum (mortuary temple). It really dominates the room--you can't not see it if you're walking through.

I took around 270 photos altogether, so whittling it down to a few for this blog post was difficult. Even then, this has ended up a bit image-heavy, so here's a handy dandy read more...

Scones, Stoolball and Soggy Socks: a Trip to Steyning

Alright, so the 'soggy socks' part is an exaggeration (I wore boots) but when I went to explore Steyning with a friend last Saturday, it was a pretty soggy day!

Steyning (pronounced 'stenning') is a sussex town with a ton of old architecture and a lot of cute little shops, both on the main street and in Cobblestone Walk, which hosts a number of 'sheds' where independent traders sell their wares.

It even has its own museum! I would have made a separate post about the museum, as it counts towards a goal on The List, but no photography was allowed inside, which wouldn't make for a very visually interesting blogpost.
I did, however, see the Steyning man, a vamping horn, and have memories of school PE lessons dredged up by the presence of a stoolball post! (And if you want to know more about those things, you'll have to go to the museum).

After exploring in the prevailing drizzle, we took shelter in Cobblestone Tea House, a really quaint little cafe, and obviously a very popular one because it was still packed after lunch time!

Of course, cream tea was on the menu, so it was cream tea that I had! A fine way to round off a trip (and a pretty good way to finish off a blog post).

Weald & Downland Living Museum

In my June Roundup, I promised a post about my trip to the Weald and Downland Living Museum, and here it is!

This post will mostly be photos; I worked hard to whittle it down to just 10 from the 200 I took!

Dad and I went to the museum on Father's Day, as they were hosting a wood fair. The day was utterly roasting hot, which made it a glorious day for taking photos, but not so much for being outside...
...which meant the coolness of inside these historical buildings was very pleasant!

To call this place a 'museum' is actually a bit of an understatement. This 40 acre site is home to more than 50 historical buildings that have been painstakingly taken apart and rebuilt at the museum. Altogether the buildings showcase a 950 year history of rural life in Britain. They also have a pretty nifty, brand spanking new visitor centre, including a shop and cafe, which I believe opened this year!

The Life Rooms

After throwing pots on Sunday, my sister let me drag her along to the University of Brighton Gallery, which is currently home to the Cathie Pilkington exhibition, The Life Rooms.

Bigger on the Inside: Horsham Museum

Today I ended up at Horsham Museum and Art Gallery, which I'd stumbled upon one Sunday (when it was closed).
From the outside it looks pretty small, but once you get past the door, there is a lot to be seen, with many different permanent collections alongside their temporary exhibitions.

Compared to other local museums I've been to, this one turned out to be up there among the best!

The museum is a real aladdin's cave of rooms, each dedicated to one or two of the collections on display, with a couple of gallery rooms (which currently have temporary exhibitions by current artists).

Peer to Pier

When down on Brighton seafront at the end of October, I happened upon Tides, one of the exhibitions in Brighton Photo Fringe 2016, which took place 1-30th October.
Photo Fringe is a free, open-access festival of new photography that includes things like talks and workshops alongside its exhibitions.
I actually didn't realise that Photo Fringe was on, else I might have made the effort to go around more of the exhibitions. As it stood, I found this one by chance, but had limited time in the city before having to catch a bus elsewhere!

Tides was an exhibition of photography by The Peer to Pier Photography Group, a group of six photographers who collaborated to capture the story of the stretch of beach where the exhibition was held.

The photographs were displayed on chunky columns, the bases of which were those cages of rocks used as sea defences and retaining walls (I don't know the real name for them!) and the top part being of equal dimension but with wood inside the cage to act as a background for the photos. It was great that the method of display matched both the topic and the location!

I liked the fact that the six photographers produced such different work. Each had their own distinctive style, but by working with the same subject matter and theme, the group created a really cohesive exhibition that fulfilled their aim of telling the story of this part of the beach.

I particularly liked Audrey Marshall's moody, off-season black and white shots (as seen above, on the left) and by contrast, Colin Miller's brightly-coloured street photography images (above centre). Colleen Slater's macro images, arranged in sets of eight, were also interesting! Together with David Wilsdon (portraits of the seafront's workers), Leon Bellis (documentary images of work on the seafront development project) and Steve Boyle (silhouette-like portraits), these photographers made a really great exhibition--I wish I'd had more time to look at it!

The Third Paradise

After the sewer tour on Saturday, I wandered around Brighton for a while and ended up at Fabrica, where the latest exhibition was in its final days.
I'd intended to visit this exhibition a while ago, but circumstances were never such that I had time to go there!

The exhibition this time was The Third Paradise: The Labyrinth and the Well by Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto.

Up the Downs

Yesterday, I went into South Downs Garden Centre at Hassocks. Now, beyond a couple of cacti and some stunted chives, I don't do gardening.

But I wasn't there for the garden stuff.

Instead, I headed into the Heritage Centre (where I've previously eaten some tasty cake) and for the first time checked out their Mezzanine Gallery.

The current exhibition is Up the Downs, an exhibition that features images of the South Downs National Park, created by several different photographers.
I found out about this exhibition through instagram, as I follow one of the photographers whose work was included.

I went there with little information about the exhibition, and expecting a random selection of scenic, postcardy shots...boy was I surprised. (Not to mention delighted!)

Free Art and Lots of Walking

Yesterday, I met up in Brighton with my friend, Victoria, and we braved the rain and rumbling skies to See Some Art (and, as it turned out, Do A Lot Of Walking).

First off we headed to Fabrica to see Luminary by Ron Haselden (shown above). The artist works with LED light rope and likes to work from the drawings of people considered 'less visible' in society, such as the elderly, children, and prisoners. Luminary works from the drawings of older people in particular.

Taken from Fabrica's website:

"[The exhibition] combines two ideas in one: literally that the artwork itself emits light, and metaphorically that older people bring important knowledge and a longer perspective to the rest of society."

I'll admit that I had to look up the meaning behind this piece, as it really wasn't obvious to me, and I didn't read the information displayed on the wall (I rarely do when I go to art exhibitions, because I want to see rather than read).

I found it interesting how the different sections of Luminary overlapped when viewed from different angles, but the meaning was pretty much lost on me! (I really struggle with a lot of contemporary art!)


After leaving Fabrica, Victoria and I wandered through the soggy Pavilion Gardens and headed for the University of Brighton Gallery, which we reached just as the storms really started and the rain became torrential!

The current exhibition at the gallery is Turner Prize-winner Gillian Wearing's piece, A Room With Your Views, and is a co-commission between House Festival 2016 and Brighton Festival 2016.

The piece takes the form of a film made from video snapshots of the view from rooms around the world, each one submitted following simple guidelines.

Shown in a house-shaped room built in the gallery itself, visitors can settle down on beanbags to watch the videos of views across the globe (or in the case of a lot of other visitors, stand at the back and hope somebody moves soon!)
I found this work interesting in the way it connects people around the world, and it appealed to my curiosity of what other people look out on from their homes, but I wasn't engaged enough to stand through the whole thing.

The last art that we saw was happened upon by accident after the weather had dried up. We found this 'Street Gallery' on Ann Street, between Ransom's and St Batholemew's Church.

This 'Street Gallery' is currently set up on the boarding around a building site, and showcases a number of surreal images.

Obviously, being in the middle of the street, some of the images have been subject to acts of vandalism. It's bound to happen, but I would have liked to have seen all of the original images!

I don't know anything about these pictures, not even an artist or anything: the only information visible is what you can see in the photos: the image titles, and 'Street Gallery - Open: Anytime - Admission: Free - Owned By The Public'.

A lot of people walked straight past these pictures (maybe the images have been there a while?) which is a shame because of all the art that we saw yesterday, these were the ones I liked the best!

As for the walking, well...

There is definitely a reason I was exhausted after this day out!
I'm counting yesterday as one of my 3 weekly walks, because nearly 19k steps and over 9 miles is significantly more than I usually do, as you can see from the screenshot!

I'll update more about my walks when I have more to tell (it may be a case of, 'Look at these cute animals I saw!')

For more of the museums/galleries/exhibitions I've seen, check out the tag for goal 10!

The New Immortals

The New Immortals

At the weekend, a school friend and I went to a new exhibition in Brighton, called The New Immortals.

The exhibition, held at the Phoenix Brighton gallery, includes the work of ten artists  who explore "ideas about immortality in an age of scientific miracles".

Down the Rabbit Hole

After scaling The O2, and eager for further adventure, my friend Lilia (Paracosm of Lilies) and I headed on to the Southbank Centre for an exhibition at the Hayward Gallery.

The artist was Carsten Höller (remember I mentioned him in my last post?) and his show Decision is his biggest in the UK so far.

Rather than an exhibition, it would be better described as an experience! A lot of the pieces were fully interactive, bringing a new dimension to the art world, and some rather trippy results!

This exhibition had a real Alice in Wonderland feel to it, with strange sights, weird experiences, and a very noticeable difference between the world outside, and the world within the exhibition itself.

Singing in the Bath: Art at Brighton Festival

At the beginning of Brighton Festival, I planned to go and see some of the art exhibitions that were incuded in the listings. The festival is nearly over, and I still hadn't seen any, so yesterday I went off into the city with my neighbour, to see what artistic wonders we could find!

Brighton is a fantastic place for art exhibitions. It's a city so rich in history and architecture, with countless spaces hidden off the beaten track that are perfect for hosting exhibitions large and small.
Such a place is Circus Street Market, which looks derelict and empty, but could hide all manner of things behind those graffiti-smothered shutters. (Unfortunately it looks like there are plans to 'regenerate' this street and turn it into another characterless redevelopment that will suck more of the soul out of the colourful and surprising city that Brighton once was. Bah.)

Complaints aside (I promise that was the last one!) here are some pictures and summaries of the exhibits we saw. And more pictures. Pictures are great, right?

Exhibitions: John Vernon Lord & Art at the Dene

As part of Hurst Festival, the Holy Trinity Church hosted a couple of art exhibitions.

The main attraction for me was the John Vernon Lord exhibition. His book, The Giant Jam Sandwich was a childhood favourite, and a couple of years ago I saw another exhibition of his work whilst on a trip to London (the exhibition in question was of his illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass).

Works in the exhibition included his illustrations for the likes of Aesop's Fables, The Nonsense Verse of Edward Lear and Miserable Aunt Bertha. I really like his work because every line is so accurate, and some illustrations contain such a wonderfully high level of detail. My favourite piece at this exhibition was Sammy (the dog) spots Gretchen (the cat) from Miserable Aunt Bertha, purely because of the colour, the scene of utter chaos, and again all the details! (And maybe, just maybe, because there's a jam sandwich in that picture. I see what you did there, mister!)

The other exhibition in the church was 'Art at the Dene'. It was a collection of artworks by residents of The Dene Hospital, an establishment which uses the arts to help those with mental illness/personality disorders. The works displayed were varied in style and I thought the exhibition an excellent example of how art can be used for expression.

I didn't take any pictures within the church as I didn't feel comfortable doing so, despite the warm welcome I received at the exhibition! But I did buy a couple of postcards depicting John Vernon Lord's work :) 

The Big Village Sing & Hurst Museum

As I mentioned last weekend, I would be attending several events from the Hurst Festival programme over the two week duration of the festival.

For today, I had a ticket for 'The Big Village Sing', so off I went into Hurst (along with Mum, who decided at the last minute that she wanted to go too--cue printing off a ticket at around 1am!)

Brighton Museum & Art Gallery: Part 2

I covered the first part of my trip to Brighton Museum & Art Gallery in my previous post.
This post covers some of the upstairs portion of the museum & gallery (which also houses a cafe!)

As I ended the last post with sandals from Ancient Egypt, I'll begin this post with Brighton Museum & Art Gallery's fashion section! It includes fashion through the ages, along with alternative fashion and - as above - international dress. I love the rich colours in the clothes shown above.

Such colours are quite a contrast to this skimpy, black and nude number! (And this is quite a contrast to the stiff-looking Victorian mourning garb found elsewhere in the fashion exhibition!). I like that, within a small collection, visitors can see how fashion has progressed through the eras, but also appreciate the dress of other countries. There is also a collection of outfits that cover alternative fashions. 80's goth, 00's goth, punk and skinhead stands alongside hippie, traveller and teddy boy!

Brighton Museum & Art Gallery: Part 1

Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, with token gull

Yesterday, I met up in Brighton with a school friend, V, and we had a nose around the museum and art gallery!
Asides from injecting a little culture into life, this is also another step towards a goal from The List:

010. Visit 30 museums/art galleries/exhibitions

Brighton Museum and Art Gallery is at 19th century building tucked away in a corner of the Royal Pavillion Gardens, originally part of George IV's stable complex!

Bit opulent for horses, isn't it?!

I like visiting this place, although it's been quite a while since I last went in.
Exhibits include:

• Pottery
• Local History
• Natural History
• Fashion
• World Art
• Fine Art
• Loads more!

I took a load of photos, so am splitting this into two posts: Upstairs and Downstairs!
This post covers some of what can be found downstairs...

Of course, I have to start with the lips sofa...

The Church of 1,000 Bathroom Scales

Jacob Dahlgren, Heaven is a Place on Earth

This Tuesday, I travelled into Brighton with a neighbour to see more of the art exhibitions happening as part of Brighton Festival & Fringe.

Finding some of the exhibitions proved to be an adventure in itself! During the festival, a lot of exhibitions 'pop up' in various places.