Poetry is Elsewhere

A London art trip: Part one

Hey folks, I'm down in London having a little art break ( as well as tattooing at Noka in Hackney )I've fitted in a lot of exploring so far, mostly here in East London - I'll write more soon, part two will be posted once I've come down from the buzz of the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Tate Modern (!!) First here's a quick tour of what I saw on the first part of my adventure…it might not be very coherent, cos, tired.

I started at The Whitechapel Gallery where I saw this print by William Kentridge (whose exhibit at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park is still very much a highlight of my art year) The phrase Poetry is Elsewhere struck me in the chest - sometimes I feel super restless - I live a beautiful, busy but fulfilling life, but sometimes I still need to go far away and look at loads of STUFF to fill my brain up with art, and despite it seeming like a paradox, weirdly, it calms and settles me.

Sometimes I feel bad for feeling this restless energy, like I can't just be where my feet are…I feel like the dog with the balloons in that mural, my head in the clouds. Maybe the phrase in this print can also be taken positively - maybe there's beauty in hitting the reset button, and letting in a bit of the poetry of someplace else. Honestly, often London tires me out, but a few days in and I find myself swept up in it all, and appreciating all the good and tiring bits that comes with it.

I felt completely swept away some place else when I entered the Archaeology of Memory exhibit by Argentinian artist Gabriel Chaile at Whitechapel Gallery. A circular room, with a floor covered in reddish earth, it was warm, glowing, inviting and otherworldly. Flanked by several large smooth animal-like forms made from adobe clay (adobe is a type of clay made from organic materials) the floor was scattered with a collection of ceramic objects which the artist has both sourced from the local area, as well as found items he's collected from his travels around the world.

Chaile is interested in how gathered objects can tell stories about the diverse lives human beings lead, and how displaying these objects can connect us to these lives. I love this so much, and as someone who collects trinkets a-plenty, I was so intrigued by what stories might be behind the artefacts. Did these items bring someone joy? Were they treasured keepsakes to help remember someone? Or were they just ordinary, functional objects someone used in their daily life?

I felt like I wanted to reach down and excavate more things from the clay - like we’d stumbled upon some archaeological dig site. It was strangely comforting. The info boards told me the artist wanted us to feel the sense of the movement of objects and how that reflects the movement of the lives of migrants, and he very much achieved that. This is maybe an obvious thing to say, but seeing this exhibition smack bang in such a particularly diverse part of London, felt like a perfect start to a really culturally interesting art trip, one which I now realise has been dominated by Spanish and/or Latin American art and artists..

The archaeological theme continued after I stumbled out onto the hot, busy streets and walked into the V&A Storehouse, where they store all the sort-of-non-displayed, catalogued items - it was so different to any museum I've been to, and I guess it reminded me of that storeroom at the end of Indiana Jones…except mostly the items weren't in nailed shut boxes, but carefully stored on open shelves for all to see.

It was surreal. And weirdly, the setting, the bare metal shelves, the lack of "dressing up" the artefacts in a fancy museum display, brought into focus how uncomfortable museums can feel when they're filled with centuries old artefacts from other countries and cultures. I suppose if we were being fair to the V&A, like some other museums these days, they do seem to be at least acknowledging this fact in their information boards, but, it’s still a thing isn’t it? And as an art-lover and museum visitor, I’m still trying to work out how to feel about it all.

I liked how there were small galleries tucked in amongst the archives. There was a reconstructed medieval (1490!) Islamic-style roof from a palace in Spain, positioned over some bright wall-hangings by contemporary artist Shahed Saleem - the combination was stunning. The tapestries are a study of anti-immigration policies from 2012, and how ‘present-day racist rhetorics echo the ethnic purity of Spains colonial empire’ - something I know little or nothing about. I love how art, for me, can be a way into a subject that otherwise feels intimidating. I guess I just have a visual brain. These tapestries were perfect storytelling pieces, as was the ceiling in its day I guess?!

I also was fascinated to see the whole construction from outside the exhibition, with the bare bones of the mediaeval roof reconstruction for everyone to see. Insanely impressive how such old, precious artefacts can be moved, remade and displayed like this. How does someone even start to piece it together?

There was actually a room where you could look down on genuine restoration staff working away to restore, document and protect items - I hate to keep comparing this place to movies (specifically Spielberg) but it did feel like looking in on the scientists at the lab on the Jurassic Park tour (before it all goes wrong) This person was very carefully stitching a very old looking garment, what a cool job!

Anyway, it was very interesting and I’d recommend it, as well as the V&A East, just up the road. At the storehouse you can actually pre-book to look up-close at an item, with their archive library system, which would be super cool if you were researching something super niche and beautiful!? Collection of dolls-houses anyone? Ancient wood-block set? Genuine vintage 90s Lesbian protest t-shirt?

Talking of niche and beautiful…and just to balance out the kinda serious art chat with something somewhat less high-brow (but no less important) Here’s a photo of a Salted Caramel Banana French Toast Brown Butter Pecan ice cream from super trendy, super East London ice cream parlour Chunk, in Leytonstone. Phenomenal. This is also art.

Best ice cream I’ve ever eaten (outside of Italy).

I’m going to sign off from this slightly chaotic post - Can you tell I-am-over-stimulated-by-all-the-good-art? More rambling soon - some of the tattoos I did while in London, and even more Latin American art in the form of Frida AND a new discovery for me - another Argentinian artist, Julio Le Parc.

Anyway, poetry is elsewhere, it’s everywhere. But for me right now, I can’t think of anything more poetic and lovely than arriving home to my fiancé, having a cup of tea on my sofa, and basically doing a nerdy show ‘n’ tell of my trip to her and my dog 😁

Thanks for being part of the show ‘n’ tell x