Shoreditch

Columbia Road Flower Market and Shoreditch Street Art.

There is no better way to feel the presence of Spring than wandering through Columbia Road, Shoreditch’s Sunday flower market on the hottest afternoon in March. There was a strong scent of Jasmine drifting through the still air as the sun emerged from behind the last cloud - our skin suddenly seemed to glow! The folk music was also so lovely. As we weaved our way through the slow-moving swarm of bearded hipsters and stray yummy-mummys, we were easily seduced by flower sellers thursting scented roses into our midst. I bought a huge, cheerful fuchsia Azaelia plant to bring back to Bristol on the evening train. I later plonked the 2ft plant pot in the middle of the train’s shared table much to the astonishment of my fellow passengers when they eventually rose from their screens to investigate the aroma!

After indulging in sheets of artisan writing paper in the sweet little stationery shops lining Columbia Road we embarked on a search for East London’s best street art. My favourite find was the oddly moving image of Christ’s Madonna gazing down at a Banksy-esque stencilled soldier. As a painter myself, it was incredibly inspiring to watch a talented young artist up on his ladder, working on his graffiti against a factory wall.

We ate the most fabulous brunch at Andina, which is a super healthy Peruvian kitchen serving everything from purple quinoa, maca and goldenberry porridge to beetroot and chilli Bloody Marys! One final duck into the Box for a peek at all of the funky - but sadly painfully over-priced - boutiques and concept shops and we were back on the road West.

 When you walk along the streets of Shoreditch past funky little barber shops, vegan cafes and vintage emporiums, there is an atmosphere, which seems to pulsate with creative energy. I feel very envious of the lifestyle, despite the fun I have back in the bohemian streets of Banksy’s birthplace - Bristol's Stokes Croft. 

The Wallace Collection, London

The Wallace Collection, London. 

It has been a while since I’ve had that sweet shop feeling, but walking into London’s Wallace Collection  (free of charge) was a moment of pure joy! Given that I have always had such a romantic taste in Art I could not believe I had never been inside this treasure trove. 

The Wallace collection is a national museum inside a historic townhouse in Manchester Square. Across twenty-five rooms are a collection of French 18th century painting, furniture and porcelain as well as a few Old Masters. They line walls decorated with velvety wallpaper’s with colours like a deliciously bright emerald, deep fuschia and lemon yellow.  

We were utterly overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of flourishing Rococo paintings. Rococo was not only a movement of the decorative arts, but also a lifestyle, which influenced painting, architecture, literature, furniture design, theatre and even social conduct. It illustrated European art’s movement from the grandeur of the church to frivolity and the pursuit of pleasure, known as ‘la fete gal ante’. People began to spend long days frolicking around the lush gardens of aristocrat's estates and attending lavish all night balls. 

The decadence of the porcelain and artwork was dizzying, so thankfully visitors are allowed to sink into the well-placed red velvet sofa’s to look at the paintings.  As we wandered around we were especially captivated by Jean Honore Fragonard’s works, especially my beloved L'escarpollette (Lady on a swing) - the 18^th century vision of immorality - which defined the Rococo period’s pursuit of pleasure and sensuality. Fragonard (1732-1806) was a French painter who worked in Paris during the Rococo period and was famous for his erotic and hedonistic works, of which L’escarpollette is the most famous.

It is this hedonism reflected in the works of the featured artists like Francois Boucher, which makes the experience of exploring the Wallace collection so visually appealing. I would highly recommend it for an afternoon of culture, without the back-breaking scale of a tour of the National Gallery! There is also a gorgeous restaurant for a traditional English tea out in the atrium and a wonderfully cosy library in the basement for students like myself to collect their thoughts and work on dissertations in peace!   

Pool (no water), Bristol

Review of Bristol Spotlight's 

Pool (No Water) 

I am lucky that as Bristol Spotlight's first year rep. i'm exposed to about two plays a week. Pool (no water) was a student production I saw on thursday night at the intimate Wardrobe Theatre above the Write Bear pub. 

I anticipated a hard piece of drama, but was not prepared for the penetrating display of emotion and fearless acting in Mark Ravenhill’s Pool (no water) produced by Spotlights drama group, which i'm on the committee for. I was spellbound by each of the actor’s performances as they created intense, contrasting atmospheres of pure horror, hysteria and sublime euphoria for the audience to digest.

The content of the play was thrilling and simultaneously shocking, from the screeching of profanities to the horrifying twisting of their bodies as they writhed in the aftermath of drug abuse. It was tough to watch, but our attention was always held, especially by the flawless choreography. A personal highlight was the scene when all four characters swam furiously through their colleague’s pool, precisely in unison, not a finger was out of place. Speech aside, their solidarity and paradoxically, their hatred was echoed by their interaction with each other’s bodies and the chairs. In particular, Eve shone through with her series of violently physical performances as she shook in pain and hysteria, provoking our natural sense of human compassion.

As we followed the four on their journey we learnt how their lust for luxury and success was poisonous for the fragility of their egos as they fall into a spiral of destructive jealousy leading to a loss of solidarity. This then leads to greed as they decide to exploit their host’s sudden position of weakness to the advantage of their own art. Watching the quartet morph into drug abusers wrought by their insecurities and lust was gripping and the choreography presenting them at different levels was visually appealing.

Considering the depth of experience I marvelled at the simplicity of the set, which was decorated with only four chairs on a small stage. The costumes, a combination of red and black long sleeve tops and trousers also gave a sense of ambiguity in relation to their gender and allowed us to interpret the true nature of the relationships however we pleased.

 Overall the phenomenal direction gave the audience a really interactive experience thanks to the intensity of the acting, intimacy of the venue, the powerful physicality of the choreography and the constant need for us to question all the play’s subtle ambiguities.