Photo Diary Part 4: London

The last leg of my Europe trip was a quick visit to London. Too quick, in my opinion, but I had to get back to Vancouver after a couple of weeks off. There will be more travels to be had later on in the year, so for now, I had to have only a short break in London to quickly see some art and some old friends. London has changed a lot since I left, and every time I go back to visit, it’s transformed some more, especially now with the Olympics coming up this summer. Entire buildings and blocks that I used to walk past are gone. And my old school, Central Saint Martins, has also moved too, from being just a few blocks from the National Gallery to King Cross, in a fancy new building.

The city was buzzing with preparations for the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics. I hope to visit London again soon. I miss the city and my friends a lot. And the art…don’t even get me started on how much I miss the art!

MAY 20, 2012

Outside the main doors of my old school building

***

MAY 21, 2012

The must-see Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the Tate Modern
A timeline of Yayoi
Wearing red while walking down Oxford Street

***

MAY 22, 2012

This cute place called Shop, Drink & Do – where you can shop, drink & do!

***

MAY 23, 2012

Taking photos at the Victoria & Albert Museum
Chinatown in London
Grocery shopping at Harrods

***

Favourite art picks: This trip was so rushed, I didn’t get to see nearly as much as I would have liked to. One highlight was the Yayoi Kusama exhibition, especially the last two rooms, one which was full of her latest large scale paintings, and the other her installation, Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life. I first saw Kusama’s work in Paris at the Pompidou Centre back in 2001, and her work has stuck with me since, so I was lucky to have been able to see this exhibition at the Tate.

Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life (Image courtesy of www.guardian.co.uk)

I spent some time wandering around the National Gallery with my friend Lucy Gough, and there’s just simply too much to see in there. But I did get to see some of my favourites, Holbein, Van Eyck and Botticelli.

One of my favourite museums is definitely the Victoria & Albert Museum, and I could happily get lost in there for hours on end.  This time around, my favourites were a bronze sculpture by Rodin, whom I’ve always been partial to, and the small miniature painting room.

Auguste Rodin, The Fallen Angel (Image courtesy of the V&A)
Nicholas Hilliard, Self-Portrait, (Image courtesy of the V&A)