Tag Archives: Exhibition

Monet exhibition

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I went to a Monet art exhibition in London. A lot of new exhibitions on artists work are ‘immersive‘ meaning that the art is projected onto huge walls where you can sit and take in the art, with music playing while you watch.

The Monet exhibition was also immersive but it did have sections where there were props, like this bridge over a lily pond, a reflection of one of his most famous art works.

In the main room, there were lots of seats that you could take to enjoy the art as they were shown. I liked how the artworks were collated together to show themes.

Some of Monet’s most famous artwork pieces were shown and it was nice to be able to see some of the greater details.

The show lasts about 20 minutes and includes some animation to help bring the art to life. It wasn’t busy when I went so it was calming just to sit and enjoy the art. At the end there was a VR section you pay for and a place for kids to colour in some of Monet’s art.

I’d recommend a visit but personally I enjoy exhibitions that allow me to learn about the artists and their influences and that make me think about what they are trying to portray.

Van Gogh Alive

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One of my favourite artists is Vincent van Gogh, so when I managed to get free tickets to the latest artshow in London based on his work, I was pretty excited.

We arrived on time and got checked in. We then made our way to the main part of the exhibition which was a room filled with floor to ceiling screens. The screens all lit up to start the story of Vincent and his journey of how he created his art.

I managed to find a space where I could see the screens clearly and took in the displays. The various screens showed different art pieces and quotes by Vincent, so I did do a lot of looking around.

One of the parts I really liked was when the screens all showed his blossom painting and it had been animated by showing falling petals across the screens.

The show lasted around 30 minutes. Afterwards I headed towards a small room filled with sunflowers and mirrors which was a nice touch.

There was also a space where there were easels and a video showing you how to draw like Vincent but I didn’t do this bit. I then headed towards the giftshop and treated myself to some magnets with a some of Vincent’s famous artworks.

I enjoyed the exhibition which was meant to feel immersive by being surrounded by screens showing Vincent’s work but I didn’t think it was that engaging and I felt the quotes selected romanticised the artist too much. I have to admit I enjoyed a Vincent van Gogh exhibition I visited a couple of years ago more as I felt I learnt a lot more about Vincent making him more real and it felt more interactive too.

Vincent van Gogh exhibition

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Before the lockdown was implemented in the UK I visited the Meet Vincent exhibition in London. I’m quite a fan of Vincent van Gogh’s artwork and I think his story is an incredible one and deeply sad. I think that his art is emotive and really beautiful so was keen to go visit and find out more. The exhibition was quite different to what you might expect. There are lots of props and everyone is encouraged to touch and get close to the displays.

Upon arrival you were handed a headset that would activate as you walked around the exhibit, telling you about that period of the artist’s life and what kind of art Vincent would have produced. There was a room that has a video project onto the wall to give you an idea of what the landscape was like as Vincent painted. You could hear the wind rushing through the tall grass and the birds crying in the sky. Another big section was the café Vincent frequented regularly, painting other customers from his table.

Haystacks play a large part in Vincent’s artwork and there were hay bales you could sit on and a large cart filled with hay.

I think my favourite section was the reproduction of his famous bedroom. You could walk into it and it really felt like you were walking in to one of his most famous paintings. It bought back memories of when I tried to draw the chair with a pipe resting on it at school.

The next section was about Vincent’s stay at a hospital after he infamously cut off his ear, having struggled with menial illness. He created many more paintings here during his stay.

The final section was about how the world has fallen in love with his paintings after he died. Vincent van Gogh painted over 2000 paintings during his 10 years as an artist.

I would definitely recommend a visit to this exhibition if you’re a fan, mildly curious or just love beautiful paintings. I really enjoyed my visit and it gave me a much better idea of who Vincent van Gogh was and his struggle through life.

Slices of Time

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I recently visited the Now Gallery in North Greenwich to see the Slices of Time exhibition by Emmanuelle Moureaux. I saw this was going to be on months ago and was really looking forward to seeing what would be displayed. I can honestly say, I wasn’t disappointed. The display was made up of thousands of numbers, arranged in colour order creating an amazingly complex, colourful display.

The thousands of individual numbers were all held up by thousands of strings.

The whole piece was really surreal, especially when you looked up close and the numbers and colours overlapped with each other.

I really loved this piece as you could see how complicated it was by all the individual numbers and how it was kept in an orderly way, not only in shape but by rainbow colour too. Organised chaos almost.

The exhibition is free and on until 19th April, and I would definitely recommend a visit.

Shrouds of the Somme

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Shrouds of the Somme is an exhibition by Rob Heard at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and is a physical representation of every one of the 72,396 British Commonwealth servicemen killed at the Somme that have no known grave. I went along with my sister to have a look and to remember all those that have fallen in war.

Each fallen servicemen was represented as an individual, miniature figure wrapped in a shroud. The figures were laid out in neat rows, and were slightly different to one another. Looking at the shrouds, it was astonishing and incredibly powerful to see just how large a number 72,396 is, a number that is difficult to comprehend in your head.

To one side of the field, there were a smaller number figures. These had placards at the head of each figure with a number and a date. The dates ran from the battles before the Somme in 1914 and ran to battles until 1918. There were dates for every day in those years. The numbers below the dates showed how many servicemen have died on that day. The deadliest day was at the start of the Somme, July 1st with 19,240 that died.

The exhibition was a very powerful one, and quite an emotional one my sister and I found. It was difficult, poignant and important to see just how many had died for our freedom and way of life.

I was pleased to see that there were lots of school children on a day trip to the see the shrouds. We have to hope that exhibitions like these have an impact on future generations and that we look for peaceful solutions to conflicts instead of violent ones that destroy families and communities.

This quote by the artist Rob Heard in the booklet I bought has stayed with me since I read it and I’m sure will stay with me for along time yet
“As a nation, we marked the beginning of the centenary of the beginning of the war with ceramic poppies in the summer sunshine and will commemorate the end with 72,000 dead bodies laid out in the November rain”

Colour and Vision at NHM

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A great thing about living in London is having access to some of the top museums in the world. One of the best and most popular is the Natural History Museum. This year they had an interesting exhibition on called Colour and Vision and seeing as it had been a few years since my last visit I thought it was a good opportunity to go back.
The building is beautiful with lots of exquisite detail. The tall arched doorways and the intricately designed pillars make for a grand view.

Natural History Museum

Inside there’s lots to see, such as the dinosaurs and sea animals but I headed straight for the Colour and Vision exhibition before it got busy. The exhibition was about how animals view and display colour in nature. The entrance was aptly marked by a brightly lit colour spectrum and cues to help keep an open mind.

As I walked through the exhibition there were lots of interesting animals and displays, some that made me slightly squeamish at times, like the animal eyeballs in jars. Others were stunning such as the exotic birds with colourful feathers and butterflies with vibrant, standout wings.

The exhibition was insightful and interesting with some truly beautiful displays and facts that make you wonder about the amazing animals that share our world. (sadly my camera couldn’t capture this very well due to the dim lighting). It was a good visit overall, and I would definitely recommend a trip.

Spring in St Christopher’s Place

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It’s starting to feel like Spring has arrived in London and in particular in St Christopher’s Place where a creative installation of 1200 ‘floating’ flowers has been brightening up the street.

As well as the flowers hanging over the street many of the shops have also been creating displays to fit the the theme of the event.

On a bright day like today it was lovely lunchtime stroll and a much needed break from the office. For those of you interested in going to visit you’ll have to be quick as the exhibition is only around for a few more days.

V&A: Islamic Middle East

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The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has some really interesting exhibits, showcasing pieces from all around the world. One of the collections I always stop to admire when I visit is the Islamic Middle East which consists of some really beautiful pieces from as far back as the 7th century.

Some of my favourite and I think most impressive pieces on show are the Ardabil carpet which is one of the largest and finest in existence made in 1540, the second largest Qu’ran in the world from the 14th century and the pretty turquoise coloured tiles from 1358. I love the use of detailed geometric patterns and writings to embellish everyday objects that were placed in homes and places of worship.

My photos don’t do justice to how intricate and colourful some of these artifacts are but if you’re ever in London I would definitely recommend a visit.