More Towers of Trash..

In June I am part of a group exhibition that takes the Lee Valley as its subject. This is an area about 15mins walk from my house. It is a marshy nature reserve adjacent to part of the old East London canal network. It’s great to walk or cycle along the towpaths with the brightly coloured narrow boats, swans, geese and ducks all drifting by on the canal. It’s a strange part of London where the City and its natural and industrial history meet. From certain parts of the Valley you can see the towers of Canary Wharf and these are my focus for this show.

So the Towers of Trash are back! This time, however, they are all made of newspaper or more specifically, the Financial Times. Given recent events, it's a lot of fun re-creating the buildings that stand in Canary Wharf, and which represent bastions of banking and finance. As with the 2007 Creek Art Fair in Dubai, the Towers will stand outside for the duration of the exhibition so it is quite possible that they will have disintegrated by the end. I am sure this metaphorical abandonment of financial institutions to the elements will entertain as will many of the FT headlines featured. Perhaps it will also prompt some interest in the FT which I am beginning to think is the only intelligent newspaper left in the country. Unfortunately, even that is showing signs of thinning and as the cost per square inch goes up, the incidence of daily investment goes down. That said the weekend edition is a bargain by comparison.

Will post images of new towers in situ when the exhibition is up and running but in the meantime here’s a preview of HSBC in progress...

Other news is that I got an invitation a few days ago to participate in the 2011 Florence Biennale. I got very excited about this and naturally assumed that my diverse creative output and consummate professionalism had finally been recognised. I would now be lauded internationally and have bundles of cash thrown my way......

Yeah, right! After extensive research I discovered that it actually costs loadsa money to participate in Florence! I am still not entirely clear on how you end up being selected but it seems that zillions of invites go out anyway. Invited artists then either pay for themselves or get sponsors if they want to do it. Overall the reviews from people who had participated in previous editions of Florence were very mixed. Some said it had been one of the best experiences of their lives while others suggested it was merely a prestigious scam. Verdict came out at about 50-50 but unless the Euro slumps to about 100 to the pound I will not be going to Florence. 
 
I actually went to Florence in 1992 but didn't make it very far. Pre-spouse and I got off a train at Florence station intending to spend a few days there. We had a blazing row as we sat on the station steps and ended up storming back in and getting on another train. We still regret that especially seeing as neither of us now has the remotest recollection of what the argument was about!

(Thanks to Valeria Bateson for photo of narrow boats on the canal).

OMG It's Almost May ..

Have just realised that it's almost May and I have done precisely 6 blog posts for the entire year so far. That's an appalling average of 1.2 per month. Granted, I haven't had a life since I left the UAE, BUT....   that has just changed. I have now acquired an almost proper job!  What's more it's a writing job that involves a lot of things that I either a) know about or b) love. In relation to the first category it's the Middle East, and in relation to the second it has art, politics and history.

Given the cultural .. dare I say it... renaissance ... in this region over the past 10-15 years, there is a now an urge to start archiving. The project I have been asked to do is essentially an archive project about the Al-Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art in Jerusalem.  As a consequence I just came back from 2 weeks in Jerusalem doing research and interviews and going through lots of lovely dusty old boxes.

The trip was supposed to be 10 days but when nature strikes back, there's not a lot you can do so thanks to the delightful volcano in Iceland, I got stranded in Jerusalem for an extra 5 days. This was fine because I have a lot of friends there and as usual the social schedule was harder to deal with than the work. It's not just the friends to see but all the family members of the friends as well.

Anyway, the first stage of the project is now well under way and is here if anyone's interested:

Al-Ma'mal Retrospective 

Once this has been brought up to the present (and funding permitting) the material will be expanded and turned into a book. 

Bizarrely this has coincided with several offers of gainful employment coming spouse's way too, so seems like its back to the life again yo... .. er... to quote Eminem. It also means we can replace a few of those garden plants that sadly didn't make it through the last two years ...... I might even buy a bird table....

What i really missed..

Now that spring is well and truly upon us I am discovering that what I really missed in the UAE was getting my hands dirty. Yesterday's marathon stint in the neglected back garden left me with dirt up to the elbows and a potent mix of crushed slug, worm and centipede pieces under my fingernails. Weeding and pulling up the dead stuff inevitably raises pieces of broken Victorian glass or china and there are always some new plants that have been blown in from elsewhere. We also discovered that the fox who spends most sunny mornings asleep in our neighbour's garden, actually lives behind our fence.


Despite compulsive itinerancy resulting in various stages upon which to play the global village idiot, my basic Britishness is confirmed.whenever I commune with my back garden The springtime delight of looking out every morning to see what new bud or blossom or bird or insect has appeared, never fades with time and this spring there was the added excitement of the compost. After two years of festering untouched, what we pulled out of the compost bin was so rich and lovely I could only feel deeply sorry that I wasn't a plant.

Of course this doesn't mean that I didn't look at all the coverage of Art Dubai but I have to say I was a bit disappointed. As always, the majoarity consisted of the hagiographic delights of the local press, with a smattering of largely usual international suspects. Sharjah seems to have upped its game generating an impressive amount of column inches for the new Al Maraya Foundation and Barjeel Art Collectiion but I couldn't find any new writers or new points of view. The most disappointing thing was the almost zero coverage of Al Bastakiya Art Fair. I did get a few live texts from friends visiting Art Dubai saying 'too much ****ing calligraphy' and 'don't think the Saudis have been this hot since Osama'...... which is arguably not funny, but it made me laugh!

Sharjah (and RAK) to the rescue

Have been happily reminded that it's the arty time of year in the UAE. First I got an email from a friend in Sharjah asking if I could do a quick edit job. Then completely out of the blue, another friend asked if I could do a job related to a RAK event. So have actually been doing some work for a change which is brilliant. It's good to be involved in this again too and it reminded me to start checking out the coverage of Art Dubai, the March Meeting, Al Bastakiya Art Fair, Tracking the Emirates and all the other stuff that happens around this time. I just hope that there are a lot more reviews this year than there used to be because obviously I won't be writing any! I will definitely miss being there for all this though, it was the highlight of my UAE year.
Other than these bits of work, I have been mostly on nurse and nephew minding duties after my sister got kicked in the head by one of her horses.  Not nice. 19 stitches, crooked neck and two black eyes. I'd stick to smaller and more predictable animals if I were her. I'm not willing to risk anything more serious than a kick in the head from a tortoise.

Sick of being sick

This is going to be another moanfest so if you don't want to know the score look away now....

I am really feeling the effects of my first winter in 2 years. The snow was great and then some more snow was nice but now that the cold and the wet and the grey are going on and on and on and on, my body is having problems coping. I have been ill in one way or another since the beginning of 2010 and the last straw came this weekend. On top of the 3 week sore throat and bizarre cough that only strikes once a day at precisely 3.10am, I suddenly got gout. Yes gout!! What is going on?? I thought this was a disease of overweight, rural, port drinking old money landowning types and bon viveur farmers? Apparently not. It seems that my complete absence of lifestyle is contributing to extreme dehydration. ie. continuous cold symptoms plus continuous central heating plus zero physical activity which results in an apathy that makes putting water in a glass and drinking it seem too much like hard work.

On the job front there was an announcement last week that the Cultural Olympiad (cultural programme to accompany the 2012 Games), had been quietly dropped. So no more prospects there then! Since my last post I have filled in two proofreading tests for a part-time job on a school leaver's salary, applied to work freelance for an online business that proofreads (?) student essays and sent desperate emails to various people trying to generate some interest in my unique skills set. Resounding silence all round so far.

It's grim. Reminds me a bit of Thatcher's 80s which is doubly disturbing. I managed to leave the country for much of that but leaving again now is out of the question so I guess it's payback time. Rather appropriately the Linton Kwesi Johnson song, 'Inglan' is a Bitch', has been thrown up on random a disturbing number of times recently. Unfortunately no one I've come across seems to quite relate to that sentiment. Everyone has their own more specific bitch - the immigrants, the politicians, the banks. In some cases I've been the bitch and  have already offended several (now possibly former) friends by culturally ill advised comments relating to burn up on re-entry to this sceptred isle. Maybe I should stay in more...

PS.   If anyone in the UAE still reading this drivel is considering coming back to the UK in the near future, DON'T!! 

Double dips

I am still unemployed but am becoming rather more philosophical about it now. In fact am considering myself fortunate for being able to retire in my 40s. My social life has definitely improved and although I don't have the lifestyle that I would like to accompany my early retirement, I do have a PhD in living well on a budget so it's not too bad.

I will of course continue to tout my ass around the market place even if it is just to reassure spouse that I still have earnings potential to contribute to the marriage. However, my prospects are looking grimmer this week because the UK is apparently in danger of a double dip recession. I know all about double dips. Having not had a cold for 2 years I am now getting double dip colds all the time. One ends and within 24 hours of leaving the house that telltale sore throat is with me again.

Apart from double dips the other main conversational trends in the UK these days seem to be migration (more hysterical than 2 years ago), the 'broken society' (political shorthand for election on the way) and paganism (challenging Islam and evangelical Christianity for the fastest-growing-religion-in-Britain prize). Of course some things stay the same and the old favourites as always are the weather, sport, paedophiles and the property market.

Tony Blair's appearance at the Chilcot enquiry caused a conversational ruffle even though everyone knows it's a waste of time and public money. It is very interesting to see just how raw the Iraq issue still is and how much anger it still generates.  The appearance and subsequent press coverage meant there were about 24 hours where it felt like the last 8 years hadn't happened which was very odd.

On the art front I gave a talk this week about the UAE art scene which was fun and have a couple of potential shows - one in May and one in October - so those should keep me occupied. I really need to risk the triple dip cold and venture out into the wilds of London exhibition land too....

In the meantime, here's a pic that encapsulates the contemporary British weekend....

No news but snow news and still no job..

It’s the coldest snowiest winter for decades and the whole country has ground to a halt as has news reporting about anything else. I don’t care because I am loving every flake that falls. After two years in the UAE getting a winter like this is an absolute treat. Of course if I had to do anything, other than the 5 min walk to the gym or the supermarket, I am sure I would not be enjoying it quite so much.

However, I am starting to get very frustrated about my unemployed status. It seems that my last two years of experience in the UAE is completely irrelevant to any job I apply for here. The cultural and arts sector in London is huge and I am sure that most jobs advertised are oversubscribed. So I assumed that some recent international experience covering policy, production and publication would actually give me an advantage but of course it doesn’t work like that. Employment seems to be on the basis of committed insularity which means that potential employees know how best to operate within the UK network. I know this makes sense and it’s the same everywhere. All that really changes is the size and depth of the pond but this experience of coming back to the UK is markedly different from my two previous re-entries.

On returning from Japan it was easy to find work, partly because I spoke Japanese but also because there was a big Japanese community in London so there were plenty of places to look where my experience was likely to be valued. When I returned from Jerusalem it was also easy to find work. I was there during an interesting period and had also managed to pick up a whole bunch of very useful new skills. As is usually the case with the Middle East I had also met people who knew other people who made sure that I met the right people when I got back to the UK.

This time, however, there is really nowhere to go. There is such a strange and complete disconnection from the UAE. It’s as if it only exists when you are physically there. It feels like I dreamed the whole thing and then woke up with some new but completely useless knowledge that I cannot apply outside of that environment. The UAE embassy doesn't even have a cultural desk which is quite ironic given the amount of energy spent promoting it over the last two years!

I just hope something comes up soon otherwise I can see myself heading to the refuge of the eBay shop. By the time I’ve flogged all the stuff I’ve accumulated from everywhere over the years, I’ll probably be in the market for an environmemtally friendly eBay coffin.

Missing Dubai..

Got back from the US trip a week or so ago and London has been pissing down with rain ever since. Combined with the inevitably dramatic next episode of the family soap and the slight matter of having no job and thus zero income ... yep... reality is kicking in big time!


Luckily my mind has been slightly taken off all of this grimness by the kind of drama in Dubai which is really making me wish I was there! First, people one wouldn't have expected to lose their jobs did and then it was revealed that Sheikh Mo didn't buy any new racehorses in Kentucky this year.... er.... I mean that Dubai World can't pay its debts as scheduled. The news was mostly covered in the UK in the usual slavering and hysterical fashion and I lost count of the glaring factual errors even in the so called quality press (FT being the honourable exception). I also lost count of how many times I read 'playground of the rich', 'desert sands shift' and that old favourite 'dark side'. Will somebody please rescue British Journalism?

Anyway.... what all of this means is that the exchange of gossip, rumour and speculation in the UAE right now must be absolutely unmissable.... and I am deeply sorry that I am missing it. It was what made living there most worthwhile! Well ... and the weather in winter. And the art of course....

Beaches, bays, seals and sunsets..

The Pacific horizon seen from the dramatic, rocky beaches of a 1000 mile (ish) coastline with mountains behind is a combination that makes the central Californian coast unique and special. Add loads of wildlife, the Big Sur River, creeks, waterfalls, pine, redwood and eucalyptus trees and it really is a mega fix for nature junkies. This is the fourth time I’ve been here and it is still as beautiful although the effects of last year’s wildfires and subsequent landslides are still visible. A lot of the trails in the parks are still closed and there are repairs and reinforcements along the coastal Route 1.

This part of the trip was really easy. We know this road so well we didn’t have to think about it and we spent a lot of time just walking on beaches, looking at rocks and sunsets……

Or sitting by the Big Sur River…..

We also spent time with the elephant seals near Gorda Springs….

And the sea lions, cormorants and herons in Monterey…..

We also went on a boat trip out of Monterey Bay where we got to see a humpback whale, a bunch of dolphins, zillions of jellyfish and a sun fish. 

Arrived in San Francisco and went out to celebrate the fact that we’d made it across the whole of the USA from East to West without any major problems and amazing weather. Apart from a few hours of rain in Kansas and three days happily watching the world not go by in snowy Denver, it was sunny and clear for the entire two months of the trip.  Now sitting in hotel in Newark, New Jersey right where we started after flying back across the continent from San Fran.

Avoiding cities and interstates made this trip pretty relaxed most of the time and staying in small towns made it a much more interesting experience. In the middle of the country almost everyone we met seemed to vote Republican including one woman who actually said ‘Fox News is the Truth’ and a lone Democrat who assured me ‘There are no liberals in America’.  We also found some of the quackest (and creepiest) TV religionists in the middle too, some of whom seem to think the Bible was written by Nostradamus.

I was intending to see and write about a lot more (presumably still) ‘liberal’ art on this trip but it didn’t happen. This was partly because we were on the road and not spending much time in towns except to sleep and eat (and canvas political views in motels, restaurants and bars…). However, I think it was mostly because the spectacle and enormity of the landscape was so all encompassing it seemed to become the art itself or at least make human creation temporarily redundant. So I guess there will have to be more art ..... on the next road trip! We could start in Boston and head west from there taking the Northern Route instead ......

Zion to Vegas to SLO ...

The drive from Bryce to our next stop of Zion National Park was on the two scenic highways of 89 and 9 both characterised by mountainous scenery, intermittent plains and occasionally an arc h to drive through.

Zion has solid, vertical rock faces that seem to go straight up to the sky, very different to the delicacy of Bryce. The only way of entering the park from the East is through a dark, narrow, mile long tunnel going straight through a mountain. The tunnel is illuminated by carved ‘windows’ in the side of the mountain and although going through it was pretty freaky, it was amazing looking back at the side of the mountain and seeing the windows from the outside.

After the solitude of Bryce, Zion seemed quite hectic. There was a constant stream of traffic on the park driveway and a lot of people on the mostly paved trails including two busloads of Chinese tourists and a high school busload too. So we didn’t really do much except stare at huge rocks, sit by the river and get rained on by Weeping Rock where droplets of water cascade gently from an overhang.  Outside of the park, however, there are several other hiking trails so we took one long, and very hot hike through a backcountry desert area surrounded by mountains.

One of the most enjoyable things was actually just chilling in the town of Springdale which forms the western entrance to Zion. There are of course lots of motels serving the park but they don’t take over because Springdale is a really pleasant and funky little town with a lot of personality and some great restaurants. This was a marked contrast to the horrendous tourist town creation of Ruby’s Inn at the entrance to Bryce which we studiously avoided by staying 10 miles down the road in Tropic.

From Zion we left on Route 9 and then joined the I-15 where we drove through a corner of Arizona for about 15 miles before crossing the Nevada state line. We were heading to Vegas baby…..

The last time spouse and myself were in Vegas was nine years ago and we had lots of fun. We stayed two nights at the Hard Rock Hotel then so we stayed two nights at the Hard Rock Hotel this time too. The difference was that last time we got married so this time was an anniversary celebration. The Hard Rock Hotel is truly wonderful for musical obsessives like spouse and myself and after six weeks of cheap motels, staying in a huge corner room with glass walls on the 11th floor was absolute bliss. We had lots of fun this time but it’s pretty easy to have fun in Vegas. It’s such a wacky town all you need to do is sit with a long, cold drink in an assortment of locations and just watch the wackiness go by. I gambled a whole dollar in a slot machine at Caesar’s Palace and promptly quit after getting 6 dollars back so don’t suppose I’ll ever develop a gambling problem.

From Vegas it was a short whizz through the desert to California and a night in Bakersfield which brought us back down to earth with a crash. The town seems to have tripled in size since we were last there and we drove around for ages in rush hour with no map frantically looking for a motel. When the ‘Americas Best Value Inn' sign suddenly appeared amid the exhaust fumes I almost wept with relief. The evening then improved dramatically when we discovered Pizzaland. Bakersfield may have grown but it still seemed like the whole town was in there watching the football, drinking beer and eating good pizza.

From there it was a relatively short hop towards the central Californian coast and having been to California on three previous trips this part of the journey was very familiar. Pulling into San Luis Obispo (one of our favourite towns on the planet) felt like coming home but it also felt a little sad because it meant we were entering the last stage of the trip and we don’t want it to end…. ever! Can’t we just drive around seeing cool stuff until we just drop dead by the roadside???