GSK Contemprary

GSK Contemporary
Royal Acadamy of the Arts
Burlington Gardens W1
Nearest tube: Piccadilly
http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/gsk-contemporary-season/exhibitions/collision-course/dark-materials/

I was here on Saturday 17th January.
The building is beautiful, as you walk up the steps there is sculptures by Antony Micallef.
I was a bit lost on entering, I didn't know what to expect, that was OK. I wandered around a bit; the layout was interesting, like a contemporary space had just arrived or fallen into an older more reserved part of London. I walked into the redroom, which was red, and didn't hold my attention for long.
My friends and I then entered the cinema room where Malcolm McLaren's 'Shallow' was playing. (I didn't know much about it or that it was Malcolm Mclaren's upon entering). It took me a while, but by the third 'film' I began enjoying it. With big pillows laid out on the ground, one is compelled to lie in wait for each on-screen composition. I say composition as, after reding a bt about it, each is a kind of film still - paintiing. I loved the soundtrack, and was surprised to find out that Malcolm McLaren composed the music himself.
Upstairs there is a kind of 'ode to' apocolyptic scenes and ideas. William S. Burroughs is talking on many film screens placed in and around other sculpture pieces referncing his ideas and work. I can say I enjoyed walking around upstairs through-out the many rooms referencing, death and animals. I didn't find it overbearing. the room with the burnt out church by Bank Violette was very haunting, the lighting seemed perfect and the whole room created an atmosphere. It has compelled me to explore that particular artist as I was unaware of their work before.
Having actual talks by William Burroughs, and sculpture and painting etc. referncing his ideas surrounding these was effective and rewarding, and very informative, especially if you were unfamiliar with his work.

We sat in on one of the many talks being held that day, the talks also referencing the whole theme.
All in all the experience was worth having, though I can't help but feel underwhelmed as I was expecting more: like dancing girls with feathers and some kind of circus!

Annie Leibovitz
A photographers life 1990-2005
16th October 2008- 1 February 2009
National Portrait Gallery
Nearest Tube: Leicester Square/ Charring Cross
I was quite stricken by the lackadaisical approach to the hanging or structure of the photographs; their layout in relation to their subject matter. They were a mix of Annie's work pictures (for magazines and photoshoots) and a collection of her own personal photographs, documenting her life throughout her career. As I said I was shocked; there were photographs of war beside smiling pictures of her family. I wasn't sure but gave it a chance, took my time and walked around, following her father and mother young(ish) and quite agile smiling on the beack to her fathers illness, witnessed his deterioration and finally death onto the birth of her first born and later twins. By the end of the visit I had laughed out loud and cried. It was a masterful job at arranging the photographs to put her own life beside Claudia schiffer, Vivienne Westwood etc. visually worked well.
http://www.npg.org.uk/annieleibovitz/exhib.htm

Thomas Husein
Bastards
22 Herald Street
This was related to the work I was doing at the time. A large human-like structure is the first thing you are greeted with upon enetering the gallery. there are two rooms. some work are on the walls and two sculptutre pieces in the main room. It's all very white, plaster wood and metal are his main materials. It is not an overloaded space, if anything it's quite simple. I enjoyed it, it was not threatening, I thought it gave you space to look around and take your time. The gallery has a little bookshop aswell, where between the books there are magazines, leaflets and more of the artists work on the walls, a cosy and welcoming space.