Results matching “paint”

Sculpture in the City is an annual public sculpture trail centred in London's Square Mile. Sculpture in the City is now in its seventh year and has featured artists such as  Damien Hirst and Ai Weiwei along with some newer and lesser-known artists. Workshops are also offered to schools and the community in addition to the public sculpture trail, and these promote inspiration through art. Last year's Sculpture in the City was the biggest success in the trail to date with a variety of wonderful works. This year's works also do not disappoint.

Temple - Damien Hirst

This 21-foot painted bronze sculpture shows a male torso. It appears to be a diagram out of a biology book with half of the sculpture showing muscle and organs and bones. The work is inspired by the artist's anatomical models and "Medicine Cabinet" series of artwork. 

4 Colours at 3 Metres High Situated Work - Daniel Buren

Daniel Buren's artworks explore outdoor light, movement of sun, architecture, and shadows. The colourful work above appears like a pagoda with semi-transparent colours attached, and these reflect to create a colourful glow. This is the most atmospheric piece, and the colours and glow create an ambience and a feeling. This is my favourite artwork for this year's Sculpture in the City.

Reminiscence - Fernando Casasempere

Casasempere works with ceramics, and he studies the landscape. Earth and clay are the materials used to construct the sculpture, which focuses on movement. The bricks appear to be made out of rolled-up textile, while others appear to be made of brick. The piece looks as if it is inspired by architectural ruin.

Black Shed Expanded - Nathaniel Rackowe

The urban shed is a common sight in London, and Nathaniel Rackowe previously had an installation for Sculpture in the City showing another deconstructed black shed. This time, the black shed has been expanded with a bright neon yellow glow inside. It appears to be caught mid-explosion. 

Synapsid - Karen Tang

This brightly-coloured sculpture appears to be a giant insect or alien creature. The bright colour and organic shape draws visitors to it, and it encourages interaction via its shape and openings. 

Envelope of Pulsation (for Leo) - Peter Randall-Page RA

An internationally-aclaimed artist, Peter Randall-Page (RA) contributes for the first time to Sculpture in the City. The sculpture is the artist's most recent, and it is carved from a rare block of granite from Blackenstone quarry on Dartmoor, England. The quarry is owned by the artist's friend Leo. The stone is worked to show movement and texture to the piece whereas the viewer can use their imagination. 

Untitled x3 - Bosco Sodi

These three rocks are escavated from volcanic magma from the Ceboruco volcano in Mexico. The rocks are glazed and fired at high temperatures for three days, and they create their own artwork. I found these shinny red stones mesmorising as I explored them in London.

Falling into Virtual Reality - Recycle Group
This artwork returns for its second year of Sculpture in the City. The collective behind this piece focuses on what our generation will leave behind for future generations. The artwork is created out of recyclable materials and ideas, highlighting consumerism and materials.

Dreamy Bathroom - Gary Webb

Webb's abstract scupture contains individual components that make up and form it. The result is a colourful piece with interesting shapes, textures, and pleasant colours. The items blend well together and play off each other in this work, which I enjoyed seeing from different viewpoints.

Support for a Cloud - Mhairi Vari

The artworks are hung in three different locations around the Lloyd's building in London. They feature honeycombed cocoons or nests, placed above the viewer. At a glance, they do not appear to be art but appear to be natural or a part of the architecture. I do wonder how many people will phone the exterminator by thinking it is a insect nest.

Apple Tree Boy Apple Tree Girl - Paul McCarthy

Apple Tree Boy Apple Tree Girl are a part of McCarthy's Hummel series depcited on a large scale. The German kitsch figures of a boy and girl are shown on an idyllic setting with an apple tree, but they are deformed and abstracted. The artist seems to send a message about how children can be conditioned to follow social norms.

Tipping Point - Kevin Killen

This work is inspired by city lights and recording the non-stop movements of the city. It is an artwork that constantly changes with the flow of its surroundings; the neon lights turn on and off to the varying sequences of the movement. 

Work No. 2814 - Martin Creed

This sculpture uses an existing tree, and plastic bags are hung from its branches to create an "everyday" but surreal installation. The artist's style is to merge ordinary materials and everyday situations into works of art.

Never has there been such urgency, or The eloquent and the Gaga - Ryan Gander

The subject of this artwork is an air-dropped parcel, which is suspended from a tree by a parachute. The contents of the parcel are located on a metal plaque near the installation, but it contains items relating to research and practices and the way that these are signified over communication.

The Black Horse - Mark Wallinger

This horse sculpture was partially created using scanning technology of a real racehorse named Rivera Red. The sculpture celebrates the horse as it is a much-loved creature and a creature that is a popular subject in art.

Ajar - Gavin Turk
This sculpture of a doorframe with a door slightly open was in place for last year's Sculpture in the City. It is a reference of the painting 'La Victoire' by Rene Magritte, in which the door represents a gateway through the imagination and is meant to be interacted with and to imagine possibilities. It reminded me of a doorway with a secret world on the other side, such as the wardrobe in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" books.

Previous years of London's Sculpture in the City are included below:

• Sculpture in the City 2016
• Sculpture in the City 2015
• Sculpture in the City 2014
• Sculpture in the City 2013

Street artist Ben Eine, who is known for his typography style of artwork throughout London, has painted a mural for the victims of Grenfell Tower in Shoreditch on the Village Underground wall. The mural was painted last week, marking one month since the disaster of the fire engulfing the building and claiming the lives of at least 80 people (I personally think this figure is higher). It is a part of the Paint the Change group, which was founded by Maziar Bahari to help draw attention to social events and issues via the medium of art.

The words are from a poem coined by Ben Okri, a Booker Prize winner in 1991, in the days after the Grenfell Tower disaster. The poem itself is 1,600 words long. The excerpt used reads "You saw it in the tears of those who survived."

The mural was painted after the work by SER (covered here) graced the wall for several months over the spring and early summer.

Today was RAF Northolt's Open Day. This event was only open to the local community via ticket sales, and it sold out quickly. The last time that RAF Northolt had a community open day was two years ago, and that year marked 100 years of the airforce base, which opened in 1915. RAF Northolt has one runway, and it handles a lot of private flights. I live near RAF Northolt, and although it's not that busy, I do see military and private aircraft use the runway. The royals and politicians are said to use it too. I've seen Spitfires do displays outside the base, the planes fly overhead after the Queen's birthday fly-past, and I've seen a VIP car with blacked-out windows and a convoy of additional cars and police (perhaps the queen?) stop the traffic and drive out of the base.

RAF Northolt was the home of the Hawker Hurricane aircraft and the location of the Polish Squadron in World War II. (A monument called The Polish War Memorial commemorates them near the base.) The base is not far from Pinewood Studios, so it has been used in several popular films, such as James Bond and Battle of Britain. 

Although we have been having beautiful weather, we did not have luck with that weather today. We walked to the base in the rain, although it rained off and on. I thought that the best plan would be to see inside the A400M plane as it was the largest plane on display. (I wish that more planes would have been on display.) The queue was already very long. 

In the end, we waited for over two hours to get onto the back of the A400M. Most of the time we waited, we did not have to deal with the rain too much, and the sun did come out a bit. 

After we got into the loading area of the plane, we had to wait another hour before we were at the front of the queue (on the left) to see the cockpit. As we had waited for so long, it did not make sense to leave.

Finally, we got to see the cockpit, which was worth it. 

After we finished, we headed over to the Chinnock helicopter.

We had a look inside and peeked into the cockpit.

While hanging around the Chinnock, we saw a Spitfire fly by a couple of times. (There was also meant to be a Dakota fly over at about 4:00, but we did not stay quite that long as the rain was very heavy.)

We had lunch, and I had a Slushie and wished that it was a sunny and hot day.

The main hangars were also open with one plane being repaired on display. The other areas were populated with some stands selling toys, collectibles, and other items. A lot of games and attractions were available to keep children busy, and RAF Northolt did a great job of organising this. I saw face-painting, clowns, video games, rides, racing cars, and timed attractions.

Also on display were army vehicles, and a lot of these were packing up early due to the weather.

Overall, we had a good time. The weather spoiled it a bit because the rain made us very wet and people were leaving early due to it. I do wish that there had been an area to see more about the history of RAF Northolt and to read more about it; there was a lot to do for children but not a lot for adults. I also would have enjoyed seeing more grounded planes and fly-pasts. I understand that the 2015 event was a larger one, and they did put on an air show as well. Everyone seemed to have a good time, even though others were also waiting awhile to see the A400M plane. Well done, RAF Northolt for putting on a show and also allowing me to tick a visit to RAF Northolt off my bucket list (since I live so close to it).

Brazilian artist Tito Ferrara has created artwork for games as well as street art. The artist commonly paints portraits. He can paint stylistic or realistic portraits, and many of them have a pop of colour. The new series that the artist is painting contains an illustrated style with gold decoration. I was able to photograph two murals by Tito Ferrara that appeared in east London. The latest, the artist's last work in London, is located at the end of Hanbury Street and depicts a girl with gold decoration/typography.

The first one that I captured was located on Great Eastern Street. (I'm not sure if it is still in place.) It features a side-view portrait of a woman with similar gold lettering.

Both murals are well-executed with realistic-yet-stylised representations. More of the artist's work can be seen on his Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/titoferrara/

Recently, I went to St. Albans and posted about my visit to the cathedral and the town itself. In this post, I discover the Celtic and Roman town of Verulamium. Mosaics and parts of the wall and buildings can be seen here, and a museum near also contains important information that is worth a visit. The town was escavated in the 1930s.

Verulamium was located just southwest from the current town centre of St. Albans, which is now in a park called Verulamium Park. It was surrounded by walls, and there were four gates connecting to major roads out of the town to other parts of England. London Gate was the name of the gate (pictured below) that was the entrance from London with the road from Dover to Chester. Colchester was linked via the gate on the east and Silchester via the southwestern gate. The four passageways (two for carriages and two for pedestrians) can clearly be seen in the footprint of the old London Gate.

There are only small sections of the old Roman wall in Verulamium Park, and from parts of these walls, there are good views of the cathedral here. Of course, the cathedral did not exist at the time of the Romans. Now, it takes a good portion of the skyline here. The site of the cathedral and lake in front of it were actually the Roman cemetary, which was just outside the city walls. The necropolis was always outside of the walls by law.

One of the most important aspects of Verulamium Park that the Romans left behind, which can be seen today, are in-situ mosaics. This huge floor formed one of the largest town houses of Verulamium. It was 2-storeys high and had 33 ground floor rooms. A building has been constructed over the mosaic in order to protect it, and a part of the floor has been taken away to reveal the heating system. Under the floor were channels made using terracota bricks which would channel the air from a furnace room to heat the floor. This house dates from the 3rd century, when Verulamium was in its prime as a rich town that relied on trade. 

When the Romans came in 34AD, they were careful to gain the respect of the local Celtic tribe, known as Catuvellauni. They believed that the marshes (from which the town was given its name, "above the marsh") and bodies of water are sacred places, and the Romans allowed them to practice their ceremonies. However, Boudicca hated the Romans and managed to burn Verulamium, along with other Roman towns. Verulamium was rebuilt in 140AD, and a new theatre was put on the site of a temple.

I went to visit the theatre, which had a concert event taking place at some point where people had been set up and practicing. Unfortunately, this took away from the atmosphere, but the seating area and inner circle of the theatre could be seen. The theatre could hold 7,000 people. Most Roman towns had a theatre, but this is the best-preserved one; I remember seeing one at Silchester too. 

The other popular feature is the presence of the columns on the stage, which would have been painted. The columns were made of sandstone, and only one exists, replaced to its location, today. Bullfights, swordfights, and executions also would have been expected to take place here. Greek and Latin plays may have also been performed, but it was more likely that it in this part of the Roman Empire, pantaminus (where the word 'pantomimes' comes from), which was the word for a silly play with a lot of dancing and music.

The theatre was associated with paganism and probably declined when Christainity spread. Many temples were built near the theatre. Outside the theatre were shops that probably would have sold trinkets of gods and goddesses and other items. The shops were blacksmith and bronze shops. Oil lamps may have also been sold here as well as glass jars and any items that would have been put into them.

After visiting the theatre, I went to Verulamium Museum, which is an award-winning museum located across the road from the theatre. It was built on the site of the Roman Forum. The Roman town was one of the most important ones in England. It was escavated in the 1930s, and many of the foundations were re-buried. 

Many clay pots and coins were found at the location of Celtic Verulamium. It had its own mint. The Catuvellauni were known as experienced warriors. They would have settled the ground nearer Wheathampstead first as earthworks and pieces of pottery were found here. The Romans must have regarded them as important as they traded with them and there seems to be a sign of respect instead of completely conquering them.

Cremation became one of the burial practices (from France), and urns were filled with pieces of bone as well as pieces of prized possessions. On a hill not far from the town was a burial for a king, whose name has been lost. A temple was later constructed here, but it is clear that a large event took place on top of the pyre before the temple had been built. This also explains that Romans did respect the people and this king, who would have had the support of his people.

One of the temples in the town was called The Triangular Temple because it was in the shape of a triangle at the crossroads. It was for the goddess Cybele, who was the goddess of wealth and growth of cities. Another temple was located near the theatre. A church was constructed near the site afterwards, showing that the religion of the people changed over time. Near the temple, the small figures of gods, goddesses, and other figures were discovered and these would have been bought for the shrine that people had in their homes.

Little charms have also been found, and people would wear these or use them as offerings. Coins bearing symbols or phallic symbols were for fertility or to ward off evil. Others were symbols of feet or legs, which may have meant that they prayed for these body parts to be healed.

Inside the museum were items traded from across the Roman Empire. The above glass jug was found in a coffin with a skeleton with a couple of other glass jugs. Other items traded included wine, olive oil, and other liquids that were put into different types of amphorae from across the Roman Empire.

Another important item discovered was found in the cellar of a metal-worker's shop. It must have an interesting story; perhaps it was going to be repaired or cleaned. Anyway, it would have probably had the pride of place in a private temple. It is a statue of Venus holding an apple. Mercury was the most popular diety on display in Verulamium because more of the god had been found than any other. 

Also, Celtic figures to represent fertility, wealth and livestock were also common.

One of the most important parts of the museum was seeing the mosaics, which were recovered from different houses at Verulamium.

A room decorated like a Roman house was also included in a part of the museum. This area demonstrated the different trades of the people of the Roman city. 

Another area showed how the people regarded animals. Several paw prints from animals were discovered in drying clay. People lived with cats to catch rodents and dogs. There was also information found on the types of tools used to harvest the land. Verulamium was popular because of its success at farming and agriculture.

The last part of the museum was an area about death. It included information about cremations and burials. Cremation took over as the most popular burial by 250AD. The best items were actually found in graves so that the dead could use them in the afterlife. Items included food, pottery or glass jars, shoes, clothing, and other trinkets.

One of the items on display was a child's coffin with tiny bones; a toy box was placed at the foot of the child decorated with seashells from the Mediterranean. A single coin was also included for the journey to the afterlife.

Another skeleton had a bronze bust above it, and it was created by examining the skull of the deceased. 

A couple of other skeletons were on display in their stone coffins, which were cased with lead. They are of a man and wife, and they must have been rich to have this type of burial. A couple of skeletons of babies were also on display. Babies could be buried inside the town's walls as long as they were younger than 40 days old.

That concludes the trip to Verulamium. I recommend a visit to see the mosaic floor and the museum, which was very good. If this interests you, may also be interested in my trip to Silchester, which you can read about here: Pub Lunch at Mattingley's 'Leather Bottle' and a Visit to Silchester.

London-based street artist Ant Carver has recently painted a new mural on Hanbury Street. The artist normally pastes up paste-ups on London's streets, but this time he has painted a wall. He uses spray paints with oils to create an illustration of a portrait in black and white, which is then finished off with bright strokes of colour to create a perfect design illustration. The new piece is photographed below.

I have previously covered Ant Carver's work here:

Street Art: Ant Carver
Ant Carver Pastes New Portraits on East London Streets
Ant Carver Portraits of Models

Street artist Helen Blur has recently returned to London and painted a new mural on Redchurch Street. I saw the work in progress earlier in the week and popped over on Thursday in order to get a photograph of it. Helen Blur (abcdefghelens) often depicts people in unfortunate circumstances. The new mural shows a man carrying a small house on his back. This may represent the cost of housing and that people in the area are being pushed out due to high prices or immigration in general.

Helen Blur collaborated with Wasp Elder on a mural on Hanbury Street this spring, which I have covered here. She also created another mural on Pedley Street, which did not last long. The work on Pedley Street I had captured while it was in progress, and it shows a figure of a larger person controlling smaller people as they walk from one tent into another, all dressed in white with colourful outfits hanging between tents. This looks to me like a description of slavery. Perhaps the conforming people in white, which look tired and controlled, are modern-day slaves forced to create new clothing. 

Previous posts:

Wasp Elder and Helen Blur, Victims of Circumstance

The "Meeting of the Styles" street art event (covered in a previous entry here) takes place off Brick Lane each year, and this means that many of the walls on Pedley Street are painted with new work. Street artist Fanakapan painted the high-profile Kinkao wall just off Brick Lane. This time, the artist returned to his colourful balloon-inspired creations instead of chrome/foil. The subject of the work is perfect for the hot weather days we are having; it depicts two semi-transparent water pistols and a water balloon with water droplets.

The mural was started at the weekend but not finished until later last week.

Previous work by Fanakapan that has appeared on this blog can be seen by looking at the below links:

Fanakapan Paints Peace for Manchester
Fanakapan Paints Shoreditch Clowns
Chrome Balloon Dog in Star Yard
Fanakapan Paints "Power Tools" on Village Underground Wall
Fanakapan Paints "Drunk Glass Elephants"
Fanakapan, Horror Crew, & Jerry Rugg
Louis Masai and Fanakapan: "Freedom?"
New Chrome Street Art Mask by Fanakapan
Balloon Animal Street Art
Cranio & Fanakapan
Fanakapan and Horror Crew

London-based street artist Airborne Mark has been painting street art inspired by Origami, the paper-crafting artwork that comes from Asia. Airborne Mark started painting street art in 2005 in his home country of Poland before coming to the UK.  His latest range of work is called "Origami Riots". The last one was inspired by African masks, and the newest addition is located on the same wall in Star Yard and is a Greek Mask, according to the artist's Facebook page. It only appeared last week.

For those interested in seeing more form the artist, I previously covered some of Airborne Mark's work, in with a round-up of other artwork in early 2014 here, a round-up in 2015 here and here, in early 2016. In addition, see the below:

Airborne Mark Paints 'African Mask' - Origami Riots
Airborne Mark Paints "Paper Sprite" - Origami Riots

The artist's official website is here: http://airbornemark.com 

This year's street art paint jam, "Meeting of the Styles" took place last weekend. The annual paint jam, which takes place in the Nomadic Community Gardens off Brick Lane, was held in July this year instead of in May. The paint jam centres around the Nomadic Community Gardens and the walls on Pedley Street that lead up to the community gardens. The gardens are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so I was only able to get around to see the work inside the gardens today.

Maikel Walkman

One of my favourite pieces this year was the urban fox walking on railroad tracks with a London-esque skyline. The main piece on the large wall inside the gardens was a collaboration between Jim Vision, Dr. Zadok, and additional grafitti-style artists (possibly Neist). Jim Vision painted his fantasy figures and creates,and the fantastic gold border was painted by Dr. Zadok.

Jim Vision & Dr. Zadok

Neist?

Carleen de Sozer

Candie Bandita

Envol

The Real Dill

Dahkoh

Stedhead and Captain Kris

Korps

BublegumSR

Nolic

Tom Blackford

Jim Vision and others

Tizer

Krisia

Bron12 & Poer

This One

Stik

Dynamickart

Jellystone Studios

Nocoh

John D'oh

AllTheSame

Subdude

Cahoots