Olafur Eliasson In real Life at Tate Modern.

I can't believe it's already December, I am looking forward to all the Christmas parties I have been invited to, something to look forward to. At the same time the election is just around the corner and frankly I and many others are sick and tired of it already; the politicians making promises to get votes and than switching as soon as they get in power and the uncertainty of Brexit, but I am not sure the election will bring any clarity, we might get a hang Parliament instead.  I went to my first Christmas party yesterday in  a swanky hotel and I received my first Christmas present, that cheered me up.

Before completing the photography project at Photofusion. I went to  to see the exhibition by Olafur Eliasson (Danish-Icelandic artist) at Tate Modern. The exhibition has 40 + of his works of art dating from the 1990's till nowadays, including installations, sculptures, photography, paintings. These included materials such as: reflective metals, colour gels, moss, water, light and air temperature.  The works I liked best are the installations where you have to use your senses to engage with the work. His installations bring nature, and the elements inside the gallery space, but at the same time he challenges your perspective and how you relate to the environment, by artificially changing things, for example in the room titled 'Beauty 1993'; here droplets of water come down from the ceiling, and depending on the angle you might see a rainbow; the floor was not hard but was made of soft material, also with the use of light, in a darkened room it played with your vision. I was unnerved by the soft floor as it was slightly affecting my balance,  in  a gentle way ( having vertigo obviously does not help), while walking around and at the same time watching the rain falling; but this was actually relaxing and peaceful. I really enjoyed this exhibit and it expanded my field of vision.

Beauty 1993 By Olafur Eliasson photo by Mirta Imperatori

Next to it was a work consisting of a mirror hanging from the ceiling and another convex glass mirror;  you looked into it and it distorted you and gave multiple images see pic. below.

Works by Olafur Eliasson photo by Mirta Imperatori

In the following room unfortunately the work called 'No nights in summer no days in winter 1994' see pic. below, was not functioning, which was disappointing. I think they should have given a discount because there was another work in another room that also was not working that day...

Work by Olafur Eliasson courtesy of olafureliasson.net

Your Blind Passenger by Olafur Eliasson photo courtesy of the Guardian

So I moved forward to 'Your Blind Passenger' above, where I had to wait in a queue before entering the room and I was warned that there would be thick fog and if I felt uncomfortable I should keep going and exit. The passage is 39 metres long and filled with fog, fully experiential and unsettling. The passage is one way only but I turned it int a two way as I stood inside the room and felt  I had totally lost my bearings,  and I didn't know how long or wide it was before entering it, I didn't walk through it like everybody else. There weren't many people, so I just stood inside of it for a while, absorbing the atmosphere. I enjoyed the peacefulness, the subdued colour, but I completely hated the fog, I felt I could not breathe and was losing my sense of direction; this was made worse by my vertigo. It was also the only room where I could not see anybody using their phones which was great. Than instead of going forward, I went back to the entrance, to the surprise of the attendant! I was just glad I did not bump into anybody.

Moss Wall by Olafur Eliasson photo by Mirta Imperatori

Thus I found myself back in the second room, where despite the moss on the wall I could not smell anything, called 'Moss Wall'. I was not sure if the moss on the wall was dried moss or preserved moss, it didn't really specify. The difference is that dried moss can be rehydrated and can come back to life while preserved moss is chemically treated and is no longer live.  I am making this point because it made me think of his other work 'Ice Watch'  which I thought was pretentious, where he brought ice blocks  to melt in front of the Tate. How about  as a joke we use all the ice in our freezers and drop it outside his house in Berlin just to make a point about climate change.

Ice Watch by Olafur Eliasson courtesy of olafureliasson.net

Than I found myself in the middle room which includes most of the photographs he took of the glaciers, his sculptures, watercolours all to do with glaciers. It felt cluttered, it didn't really flow with the rest of the experiential installations in the previous rooms which were really good. Where was the curating in this room? The display of the photographs, close together, all with the same coloured frames didn't make me want to look at them any further.

So I went back to  the room with  the 'Moss Wall 1994' and I saw lying on the floor the work 'Wavemachines 1995', four long squared tubes filled with a yellow liquid fitted with a mini motor that produces tiny waves.

Wavemachines 1995 by Olafur Eliasson photo by Mirta Imperatori

Than someone from my group told me I had missed the candle burning against a circular mirror?? Work called I 'Grew Up in Solitude and Silence 1991'.

Where was it? By than I had moved to 'The Spiral Room 2002' see pic. below, an 8 metre kaleidoscopic long tunnel that plays again with your perception and senses by the way it is constructed, and the reflecting metal distorts your image when you enter it. It's fun like the rest of his kaleidoscopic work. There was controversy with this work because it is accessed by steps with no wheelchair access!  I was also surprised that neither the Tate nor the artist thought to put a VR headset to make the work accessible to disabled people so they could at least experience it in that way.

The Spiral Room 2002 by Olafur Eliasson photo by Mirta Imperatori

Anyway when I entered the work someone behind me lost their footing while taking the endless 

selfies and she landed on the external wall and the whole work shook inside to the concern  of all of us and of the attendant outside!... I was glad to get out of there in one piece. 

The last room contained the work 'Your Uncertain Shadow', by then actually I was not sure anymore in which room I was as I felt so disorientated  and over stimulated by the previous works. In Your Uncertain Shadow  consists of five different colours of light streams projected onto the wall; the viewer steps in front of these beams to create shadows.

Your Uncertain Shadow by Olafur Eliasson photo by Mirta Imperatori

Following this is the expanded studio that gives an example of activities and the atmosphere of the artist's studio in Berlin. I was interested by the project 'Little Sun', a solar light planned by Eliasson for remote communities.

I would say overall the exhibition was an Instagram paradise, people all round me were taking loads of pictures of themselves inside the installations,  even to the point of being annoying. His strongest works are the experiential installations, the playfulness side of them, where he brings outdoor nature inside the gallery space; while I found his climate change work less effective. The juxtaposition of the artificial man-made installations that use energy, doesn't sit well with the climate change works to do with global heating.

My Latest Photography Project & Exhibition at Photofusion in London.

I was selected for a photography project at Photofusion Photography Centre/Gallery in London which was really exciting. First I had to show them my portfolio of photographs, and do an interview to be accepted, which I was. During the project I took urban photographs around the area with cameras I have never used before, both in black & white and in colour, all under time constraint.  The first day of shooting was freezing cold; I was not dressed appropriately and the trains were delayed so I was nervous. I had the commuting problem all during my BA, my MA and now on this project. Basically being the only person commuting from far away, with trains constantly delayed,  and dealing with the bad weather, floods and all, but I did it. I remember my course directors at uni and other students telling me that they were really impressed with my determination to complete the course and do well, despite the long distance commuting.  Anyway I was really happy to be selected for this photography project that culminated in an exhibition.  I spent some time developing black & white photographs in the darkroom & doing some camera-less photography.

Below are a selection of the photos I took on the project.

For part of the project we had to select items that we carry with us that say something about ourselves,  see below a sample of my camera-less photography.

 Below are three of my camera-less photographs that were selected for the exhibition.

Brexit reflections.

I have completed my Masters in Fine Art in the autumn of 2018. I have been asked: How does it feel to have finished? And I say: Great, a sense of achievement and relief as I don't have deadlines any longer and now I can write whatever I want on my blog (so I might be reviewing more films); but uncertainty due to Brexit has continued throughout the two years in which I have completed my Masters.

Many people don't know where to position themselves, both British and Europeans alike.

Three British friends of mine who used to live here, have moved to Europe: in order to be able to get a  European passport. Others living here don't know what to do, these are Remainers, they are deeply unhappy about leaving the EU, they feel European so they have been discussing whether to move abroad in case of a no deal Brexit. The Leavers are unhappy as well, as nothing is happening fast enough for them, and they feel betrayed by their own government; they want to pull the plug and regain sovereignty. Both Leavers and Remainers are unhappy with how things are going, for completely different reasons, some don't speak to each other any longer.

Some of my European friends here managed to get British citizenship as they have been worried about being sent back. Everybody is trying to protect themselves the best they can in different ways, in different circumstances. Some people don't know where they belong anymore.

During the Christmas period, on top of buying presents I was also stocking up on long term food incase of a no deal after it was discovered that the Government had paid millions to a ferry company that didn't have any ships.  Just today Parliament voted down extra money for the Government to prepare for exit with no deal…Things change daily in the news but not in people's lives.

All of this mess started with the financial crisis in 2008 and consequently years of austerity, job instability, lack of jobs and cuts to essential services in most areas (transport, police, education, libraries) that has affected a lot of people, pushing some people further into poverty, desperation and homelessness.  The economy is run by London but many areas outside of London don't see the benefit of it, hence Brexit.

There has been an increase in violent crimes, most recently a random murder at a train station. On top of this the migration crisis caused by wars and poverty abroad and the poor response to this  internationally combined with terrorist attacks, it is really a toxic cocktail.

People  have been killing themselves a lot lately here in England, it's become a regular thing hearing someone jumped in front of a train or from a building, it's happening so often that a minister for suicide has been appointed, I think we are the only country to have one…

Not long ago I saw a young woman who was trying to jump from the top of a building, she was standing right at the end of the building, a lot of people were taking photographs of her which I thought was appalling. The police were very efficient and moved us all backwards and cordoned off the whole area, I think they didn't want anybody witnessing her death close up. A friend of a friend of mine is receiving counselling after someone jumped in front of her while she was shopping inside a shopping centre in London, landing at her feet not on top of her. Now she is scared to go inside shopping centres or indeed outside of the house. We are not going through normal times.

I have noticed people getting angry over nothing in the street, shouting at each other or getting into arguments on public transport like never before. In some areas the transport has been atrocious lately with trains constantly majorly delayed, worst than ever I can remember, isolating people with no cars in their own areas  by drastically cutting the amount of transport available per day. In my friend's area they only get three buses per day and no trains?!

I have been meditating regularly recently for longer periods of time, with liberating and calming effect  and I have been busy drawing and painting. Keeping positive, exercising going about my life as best as I can but I still feel a sense of uneasiness, it comes and goes, I am just aware of it but I don't indulge in it. My friends say they feel the same at times.

So the Christmas holidays were a really good break from all of the above, I was invited to several Christmas lunches, dinners and events, it was great to be able to catch up with friends during the holiday period and have some fun. The end of the holidays and we are back to Brexit and what is going to happen next? An exhausting process but will Parliament actually agree to anything???

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