6 posts tagged “the london word”
But despite a continuing fanaticism about Lego in all its forms, these days Cake and Neave’s artworks involve other just as unconventional materials, including knitted toilet roll dolls, Scalextric track, Tube maps, Smurf figurines and papier mache masks. Although in the UK they often face scepticism, elsewhere they’ve proved far more popular, with exhibitions this year in Paris, Berlin, New Zealand, Singapore and Beijing.
This is an interview with my handsome housemates, Cake & Neave, who kindly agreed to let me grill them for The London Word. You can read the rest of the article here.
I promise I will chronicle our adventures in Paris at some point soon.
And I haven’t forgotten all the other bits and bobs I haven’t told you about yet, like reviewing restaurants and the Love & Madness production of Macbeth for the London Word, the Manics two nights in a row at the Camden Roundhouse, and squealing with excitement because I’m interviewing Amanda Palmer next week.
But in the meantime, here are some photos of my boys and I at their exhibition in Zadig & Voltaire last week. And some pictures of Z and I slurping hot chocolate in Café de Flore, pretending to be Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.
(Polaroids by François Séguin)
Did I tell you that I’m going to see Chicago next week for The London Word?
Or that later this month I’ll finally be meeting Cathi Unsworth in the flesh, at an event she’s doing at the Barbican?
I know I’ve mentioned Berlin on here already, but I can’t wait, so I’ll just say once more how excited I am. Fancy black and white photobooth pictures, cocktails at King Kong Club and Vietnamese noodles at Monsieur Vuong’s ahoy. Oh, it’ll be good to be back.
It’s a shaping up to be a busy month. And that’s without all the demands of the day job. But it’s all positive and exciting things that I’ll be up to. Maybe it’s because we’re now we’re almost two weeks into 2009; I can stop being such a scrooge about New Year and get cracking on the good stuff.
I haven’t mentioned yet that Poppycockney has closed. This is sad, and Sian has explained it better than I can over at Sianyland. But I’m not too upset, because during its short life I made some cool and fascinating new friends, and achieved a lot that I’ll be proud to link back to. And it’s closure does mean I’ll have more time to devote to other projects Some of which you’ll find out about soon.
I probably haven’t told you lately how much I loved Francesca Lia Block when I was younger. You can read about that over at BitchBuzz. And I haven’t told you yet what the ideal soundtrack to my life would be, like I promised Sian I would. At some point I will, promise. But not right this second, because I can’t stop listening to my latest obsession: Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen. So, for now, you’ll have to wait. Instead, here's some photos of me posing like an idiot in Berlin. Don't say I don't spoil you.
With only ten days left until Christmas, I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to the holidays. I'm very excited about returning to Northern soil to see family and friends later this week, and then after that I'll be coming back to London for a few days of rest. Although, I won't actually be resting, because the next couple of weeks will be much-needed time at home, with my computer and ideas. With the day job and all, it's rare that I get more than a couple of hours per evening in bed with my laptop, attempting to wrap my few remaining brain cells around other projects that I want to put into motion. But hopefully once the holidays are done and dusted I might even be able to unveil a couple of things that I've secretly been beavering away on. So stay tuned.
Elsewhere on the internet, I've been busy as usual. The wonderful Cathi Unsworth was gracious enough to let me harass her again for another interview; this time it was divulging the secrets of London's dark past for The London Word. These type of stories, and psychogeography as a concept in general are fascinating to me, so I loved doing this interview. If you like, you can read it here. I've also been doing more than my fair share of fangirlish squealing about one of my favourite authors of all time, Jeanette Winterson. She's my literary heroine of the week over at BitchBuzz, and if you're so inclined, you can find that article here.
I may be back before Christmas, but if not then I hope you all have a very merry one indeed, with mulled wine and mince pies aplenty.
Once again, it’s been a busy week. But it’s not like I haven’t got anything to show for it. My interview with Cathi Unsworth is now live on Bitch Buzz, and my first assignment for The London Word, a review of La Clique at the Hippodrome, is online now. And on top of all that it was my birthday too, in celebration of which I went dancing and to see Ladytron live at Shepherd’s Bush. So maybe it’s just the comedown from flapping about like a loon all last week, but I’m a bit brittle tonight. Don’t worry; I know it’s only the usual combination of hormones and fatigue. But forgive me in the meantime if I seem disheartened; normal service will be resumed shortly.
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I’m sad about the news that Richey Edwards has been declared legally dead after all this time. It’s surreal reading the obituaries of someone you idolised. I’ve never been in this situation before. All my other pop culture icons are either still fighting fit and strong, or departed this earth long before I even learnt their names. (In case you hadn’t already noticed, I’m always one for extremes.) And I can’t help but find it offensive that many of the obituaries for Richey from recognised national newspapers have blatantly been lifted straight from the Wikipedia entry for him. That kind of lazy, sloppy journalism irritates me at the best of times, but it seems especially flippant and insulting under these circumstances. Richey has become such a canonised figure, and is still adored by so many, that this news is bound to be hurtful to a lot of MSP fans. Whilst this may be a tenuous close to that harrowing chapter of the band’s history, it wouldn’t hurt for the media to be less glib in their reporting of it.
This post was going to be a blatant rip-off of Sian and TikiChris’ 5 Good Reasons Blog. But then I got far too carried away with my first two points of squealing, girlish enthusiasm. So, to save you from reading an epic list detailing my every liking and whim, here are some ramblings on two completely unrelated aspects of pop culture that have made me smile this week:
1) Barbara Kruger:
I really, really love Barbara Kruger. I love that her work is direct, but with layers of complexity underneath. I love the use of collage and sloganeering. I love the paradoxical combination of simplicity and intricacy. I love the idea of combining beautiful and bold ideals with the political issues that are so often ugly and opaque.
This week I’ve been feeling weak and pathetic. A combination of illness, overwork, taking on too much at once, and attempting to navigate my way through the organisational labyrinth of plans for Christmas and my birthday (this week!). Doesn’t seem much, when it’s listed like that. In fact it’s all petty nonsense, if I’m being honest. But when it’s all added up it’s easy to let myself get overwhelmed. Luckily, Barbara Kruger’s art has a strength and passion that’s infectious. I find it difficult to articulate what it is about her work that ignites and enthrals me. But something about it works wonders, and after gazing lovingly at my selection of postcards and books of her art, I’m some way to returning to my former semblance of invincibility.
2) Videos that feature Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt with their tongues in each other’s mouths:
It’s a stigmatised position to be an enthusiast of homoerotic fanfiction. But, BooshSlashHaven is one of my favourite guilty indulgences. Even more so than my secret, geeky affection for stories about Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy getting it on, and that’s saying something. I know, I know; my procrastinating knows no bounds. But I can’t help it. And, much as I don’t approve of Katy Perry, this video is sheer genius:
(Although, it’s gotta be said; there should have been more close-ups of the kissing.)
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And now I’ve talked myself into looking at the world in a somewhat more positive light, I do also have some news: as of this week, I’ll be writing for The London Word, alongside my other moonlighting from the day job for Poppycockney and BitchBuzz. And for my first assignment, tomorrow night I’m off to review La Clique, which I’ve wanted to see since its opening week in October. So it’s not all bad, really, is it?
