making a title

self-portrait attempts...

Working the Paralympics Opening Ceremony

Carnival (2003)

Birthday Bunting for my mum

inspired by this pom pom garland by Depeapa

Orford Ness

(click for more photos)

Last month I got the chance to work for the artists Jane and Louise Wilson during their filming on Orford Ness. They recently set up a sculpture trail on the ex-army base island

(link here)

and were making an art film to accompany it.

It was a really beautiful place, with strange suspended roofs above the buildings meant to collapse and lock in any radiation disasters when they were testing nuclear bombs there. It was weirdly empty, we had to stay on the shingle paths to avoid any mines and the ground was littered with bits of animal skeletons

Their sculptures were hand-painted yardsticks in each of the buildings on the island which were really powerful in such a derelict setting. It was fascinating watching a filming process without actors, with such a focus on the camerawork; the lenses and float-cams... 

(the only drawing i had time for)

Hayward: Invisible Art

Before France, I made it to the Invisible Art exhibition at the Hayward which was excellent. Unfortunately I had to cycle back to Holloway to pick someone up from nursery so didn't have time to do the invisible labyrinth at the end but I enjoyed it so much without that it didn't really matter.

10 (or 12) Facts About Me

But upstairs...

I found rooms of work by architects and illustrators working in some way on a project or theme about urban housing and inner-city transport. I definitely didn't quite understand what it was all about but there was some really nice work. I particularly liked these pairings of photos & illustrations by the AUC:

(click for more photos)

In one room, there were wooden poles with not-obviously-related drawings & messages attached with wire that I also didn't really understand. This was my unhelpful addition:  

CAPC

The third, and most disappointing visit (maybe unsurprisingly) was the museum of contemporary art.

It was a really nice building- I just didn't love much of the stuff in it.

The big exhibition was a retrospective of the work of Michel Majerus, which I just wasn't mad about. I found the colours, the fonts and his compositions all kind of ugly and I really have to visually enjoy something to like it.
Though I did like that when you first came in you had to walk through a giant painted skate ramp.

Musee des Arts Decoratifs

Then the Musee des Arts Decoratifs for a history of French interiors.

(click for more photos)

Musee D'Aquitaine

We managed 3 museums/galleries on trips into Bordeaux for the train station, the first being the Musee d'Aquitaine- kind of like their equivalent of the British Museum, but smaller and mainly containing items from their own country.

(click for more photos)

Two Drawings

One by me, one by my grandad

I Made A Blog

I have just (ish) got back from France where I spent a holiday in heady blissful ignorance before knowing anything about this blog project. I've been worrying about it since got back getting lots of things ready without actually blogging anything at all (plus I was discouraged when I found out apoa.blogspot was already taken by a woman called sue who made one post in 2006 about a failed lawsuit). So I have finally decided to start with some classic holiday snaps to get the blogball rolling and get rid of the scary blank blogcanvas.

(click for more photos)