Tate Britain: Chris Ofili Exhibition

I firstly heard his name because he is one of the most famous alumni of Chelsea.He studied Fine Art at Chelsea School of Art during 1988-1991 then he continued his Masters at Royal College of Art. I can not say I like his works because he's not particularly my type of artist. But looking into his paintings the elements of his early works are really interesting.



Blossom, 1997, Private Collection, all images: © Chris Ofili

While there is much humour in these early works (one of his Captain Shit paintings, featuring a comic book funk superstar, is in the Tate Briain show, as well as Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy, a painting of a giant phallus adorned with a clown face), Ofili didn’t shy away from the politics of race at the time. His work No Woman No Cry, a portrait of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence’s mother Doreen, which includes small photos of her son in the teardrops that spill down her face, remains deeply poignant today. His depiction of women in these works is ambiguous however, with explicit porn imagery shown next to more respectful, and beautiful, images of women such as Blossom (shown top). Ofili’s use of porn imagery, which he says was a direct response to living in King’s Cross in London where he witnessed the street life of prostitutes and pimps, reached its zenith of controversy back in 1999 when Mayor Giuliani complained about his depiction of the Virgin Mary in a painting included in the Sensation exhibition that was showing at the Brooklyn Museum in New York. Guiliani threatened to withdraw funding from the Museum for exhibiting the painting, which depicted a black African Mary surrounded by pornographic imagery.

Speaking of the conflicting imagery in his work in an interview with Parkett magazine in 2000, Ofili commented: “It’s about the way the black woman is talked about in hip-hop music. It’s about my religious upbringing, and confusion about that situation. The contradiction of a virgin mother. It’s about the stereotyping of the black female… It’s about beauty. It’s about caricature. And it’s about just being confused.”

Blythe House trip

We visited the Blythe House Archive in West Kensington/Olympia by appointment. I was shown the Art and Design section in which there were books and books of fabric samples, fashion forecasting books, photos, drawings etc. There were samples dating back to the 20's, however the ones that most interested me where the French fashion forecasting books from the 60's and 70's. Each page was beautifully illustrated, coloured, and full of detail. The illustrations helped to tell a story and describe the fabric sample that accompanied it. Although they were very retro looking they wouldn't have looked out of place in modern fashion illustration books. I was given a handout that explains the history behind the fashion forecasting company 'Presage'. "Presage is a highly professional fashion service which accurately forecasts fashion trends 20 months in advance. It was established in Paris in 1961. Presage is a comprehensive guide and working tool for all the fashion-related industries. Presage's presentation is never incidental. It is carefully studied for meaning and direction. This is achieved by the choice of both the quality and colour of the paper in its books, the ink used in printing, as well as the trends shown in the designs and their backgrounds. the most important advance colour is chosen for the various book covers, which change every season.

Ethical Fashion Forum

The annual Ethical Fashion Forum seminars took place at Triangle Space of Chelsea College. As a culmination of 2009's Spotlight on Sourcing event series, the Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF) held a two-day Ethical Sourcing Marketplace in London. The marketplace brought together representatives of brands and retailers with manufacturers, suppliers and cooperatives working to high ethical standards.Ultimately, EFF’s goal is to reduce the environmental impact of the industry, support fair and equitable trade, and reduce poverty.

V&A trip: Telling Tales Exhibition

Having been to V&A for so many times, I still discovered new surprises from time to time.
This time it's the 'Telling Tales' Exhibition: the exhibition explores fantasy and fear in contemporary design. Each display showcases furniture, lighting and ceramics through
storytelling. Overall the exhibition was cosy and compact, consisting
of three 'rooms': the forest glade, the enchanted castle and heaven/hell.Below are my favourite item respectively from each section:



'Bathboat'
Wieki Somers

Oak and red cedar, epoxy

The 'Bathboat' is like a small boat turned inside out, designed to keep water in rather than keep it out. Wieki Somers wanted to make the connection between floating on the water and bathing in the water because they evoke many similar feelings and elements.



'Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend 1' lantern
Matali Crasset
Paktong, mouth-blown sheet glass


Paktong is an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel. It was developed as early as the 12th century in China and was prized because it looked like a cross between gold and silver and would not tarnish. Until now, its recipe had been lost. Matali Crasset's lamp is like a massively enlarged diamond pendant.



Priscilla 37 kilotons Nevada 1957' huggable cushions
Dunne & Raby
Reflective fabric, polyester stuffing

These cushions diffuse our horror of nuclear annihilation by allowing us to literally embrace our fears. We are infantilised, as the atomic subject is made into a child's object. The soft toys, therefore, act as psychological prostheses, using irony to help us confront what may at first seem impossible to face: the threat of total nuclear desolation.

Dunne & Raby are my favourite interaction designers from London, they use design as a medium to stimulate discussion and debate amongst designers, industry and the public about the social, cultural and ethical implications of existing and emerging technologies.

Hidden treasure in Holborn:Sir John Soane's Museum

Sir John Soane's Museum at Lincoln’s Inn Fields

Soane was born in 1753, the son of a bricklayer, and died after a long and distinguished architectural career (he designed the Bank Of England) in 1837. He designed the house to live in, but also as a setting for antiquities and works of art. After the death of his wife (1815), he lived here alone, constantly adding to and rearranging his collections. Having been disappointed by the conduct of his two sons, he decided to establish the house as a museum to which‘amateurs and students’ should have access.

Every square inch of the place is filled with mouldings, paintings, statues and objets trouvees thus the splendid house becomes really crowded. The highlights are the Egyptian sarcophagus of Seti I and, best of all, the Picture Room, with its theatrical reveal of hidden walls. Here you’ll find Hogarth’s ‘The Rake’s Progress’ and his ‘Election’ paintings.

It is surprising to know that he is a great archetect then a devoted collector.