Eddie Lock & Death by Daylight were presenting a collection of works from a selection of Britain's leading urban & contemporary artists, hosted at the Red Bull Studios near London Bridge. It wasn't a large exhibition & whilst I hadn't heard of all of the artists, I was aware of a couple & pleasantly surprised at what I saw. Without doubt, the piece that made the greatest impression on me was Goldie's "Maimuna (Reverse Muna)" - as you can see by the picture, it is a striking image, set on 11 layer ply wood & canvas - I have to say I kept coming back to look. When you look at Goldie's CV, his all-round talent amazes, not only has he played a pioneering role in the Drum & Bass scene, risen to prominence in the graffiti art community but he has also conquered Hollywood with performances in "Snatch" & "The World is Not Enough".
Goldie didn't disappoint with his other pieces but I was also very impressed by Pam Glew's works. Pam is one of the few British female artists to emerge in recent years & is best known for her work depicting iconic figures using a unique bleaching technigue, often on national flags. The other installation which kept drawing me back (which was conveniently placed opposite Goldie's "Maimuna (Reverse Muna)", was her portrait of Scarlett Johansson, superimposed on a vintage embroidered 48 star American flag.
Other artists included Dan Baldwin, Chris Bracey, David Whittaker, K-Guy & Fin Dac but the works of Mau Mau were my other stand-outs, especially his work entitled "Hottie" - pretty self-explanatory but definitely hard to disagree!
If you have a penchant for urban & contemporary art & have chance to make it down to the Red Bull Studios in London before next Sunday (27th November, 2011), I would definitely recommend the visit. For more information, visit Eddie Lock's site at http://www.eddielock.co.uk
After exploring the London Bridge area a little more, I worked up somewhat of an appetite & wandered around to Borough Market...somewhere I had heard a lot about but never had time to visit. Believe me, the experience is an attack on the senses. The market is a collage of internationally influenced & locally produced food, with the aroma changing at every corner but always intense & never disappointing. This is the canvas that food deserves & somewhere else I would wholeheartedly recommend visiting if you are in the area. For information on times & days the market is open along with what you might find there, go to http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk
The weekend is, however, nearly at an end & the week ahead promises to be a busy one. Mutchy is coming to visit for a few days whilst the UK Sport & Exercise Medicine conference (UKSEM) is on & I am hoping to get down for several of the sessions. The UKSEM is now the largest interdisciplinary conference on sports science, medicine, conditioning, rehabilitation & performance coaching & several of my colleagues are speaking over the 4 days. To look through the programme that has been scheduled, go to http://www.uksem.org
Finally, I would just like to thank all of you that have taken the time to send me emails with your feedback on the blog & discussion points that it has been stimulating. The stats now show that you guys are spread over 41 different countries, which completely amazes me given the fact that I have only been on-line for a little over 3 months. Keep the chat coming & please add your thoughts in the Comments section below.
Cheers
