Krapp 39 and All I Want for Christmas: Two lives, poorly lived
Lawrence has thrown away his life, counting down the days until he is the right ages, 39 and 69, to take the leads in Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. Spending his days wandering between psychotherapeutic whinges, snuffing out birthday candles by sucking the light into the pit of his existence. Today, a year shy of forty, he is finally ready to be Krapp.
02 Dec 2010
The Black & White collection
‘Bobby Gillespie’. Image Courtesy of the Artist
Standing tall next to the music photographers who inspired him, Andy Willsher’s Black and White Collection is somewhat awe-inspiring. A long established NME photographer, Willsher has photographed anyone who is anyone in rock ‘n’ roll, from the Foo Fighters to Paul Weller, in a way that really captures both the playful and serious side of their career. A thrilling display of such iconic, stunningly composed images, this exhibition is one for music, art and photography fans alike. Until 31 Dec. The Book Club, 100 Leonard Street, Old Street, EC2A 4RH www.wearetbc.com
02 Dec 2010
Francesca Woodman
From Space 2 Series Providence Rhodes’ Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro Gallery
A retrospective encompassing 100 photographs taken by the enigmatic Francesca Woodman between 1970 and her untimely death in 1981, this exhibition explores but a snippet of the artists’ 800-strong archive. Rare coloured prints and other unseen photographs sit along aside familiar images of Woodman’s body, as she plays with sexuality, performance, furniture and fashion in carefully arranged compositions. Truly compelling, Woodman’s work often identified with the performative nature of photography, reflected in the blurred movement beneath cracked surfaces, off-kilter focuses and stunningly haunting shadows. Experimenting with her body as both the object of the gaze and the acting subject behind the camera, her work is perfectly brooding, flirtatious and beautiful. Until 22 Jan. Victoria Miro, 16 Wharf Road, Angel, N1 7RW 020 7336 8109 victoria-miro.com
02 Dec 2010
Suki Chan: Utopia on the Horizon
Suki Chan ‘Interval II’ Film Still Courtesy the artist and Tin Type Gallery
Notable for their dream-like aesthetics, Suki Chan’s breath-taking panoramic films often trace abstract human narratives through urban environments. Possessing a rare clarity, this specific exhibition features Chan’s crisp and honest photographic series A Place On Earth, which focuses its lens on the newly sprung fraught, tense and yet hopeful towns in the suburbs of Shanghai. ??Until 18 Dec. Suki Chan will be speaking at Tin Type with Artesian Magazine co-editor Gareth Evans on 8 December. Tin Type Gallery, 23-25 Redchurch Street, Shoreditch High St, E2 7DJ 020 7503 9642 www.tintypegallery.com
02 Dec 2010
Bloomberg New Contempories 2010
Vasileios Kantas ‘Red Ball’ Image Courtesy the artists the ICA Gallery and Bloomberg New Contemporaries
A snapshot of today’s emerging artistic trends, the Bloomberg New Contemporaries exhibition returns to the ICA once more to showcase work from some of the most exciting young artists around. Displaying work from over 49 artists, highlights include the aesthetic wonderment of Sam Knowles ‘Field’ series and Darren Harvey Regan’s ‘Aletheia’ in which a taxidermy bird appears to stare at its own reflection. Merely a photograph mounted on a shiny black surface, the work plays with shadows and mirror effects as the heavy light creates a real shadow of the taxidermy and of the audience. The exhibition is not only completely free but is offering free, guided tours to introduce to the collection. Guided Tours: Wednesday – Fridays 2-6pm. Guided tours by exhibiting artists: Sunday 2-6pm 5 & 12 Dec. Meeting point in ICA Reading Room. Until 23 Jan. Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Mall, Charing Cross, SW1Y 5AH ica.org.uk
02 Dec 2010
Exhibition of the month — Byroglyphics
Having only begun exhibiting solo in 2008, his current show seems effortlessly curated as it ranges from physically hand-made collages to more mechanically generated impressions.
02 Dec 2010
How do I tell my boyfriend I fantasise about other women?
I’m a 21-year-old woman with bi-curious tendencies who’s been in a committed relationship for four years. He’s sweet and kind. We share a lot of interests and get along very well. Thing is, I don’t know if I’m meant to be in a committed relationship. For the past year and a half, I’ve been thinking about what things would be like with another man. I also frequently imagine what it might be like to sleep with another girl. In fact, whenever I’m masturbating, I get more excited by lesbian scenarios than straight scenarios—although I’ve never been able to come.
02 Dec 2010
Asher — Sound Engineer, Christiana, Copenhagen, Denmark
This was the advice I received while entering the graffitied walls of Copenhagen’s self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood known as Christiana. Night had fallen and silhouetted against burning oil barrels large dogs ambled through the freezing drizzle. In the past week a police raid had swept through and it seemed to have left in its wake an air of nervous subdued energy. Nevertheless a few stall holders huddled under their stalls selling marijuana, hash and skunk out of small plastic tubs. It is regarded by many as a commune-like environment and has separate laws and societal structures to the rest of Copenhagen. I met with Asher, a sound engineer and former resident to find out why he believes its survival is so important.
02 Dec 2010
Cuts and run: Mayor Johnson’s independent streak lasts almost all day
The cuts announced last month will make life far harder for many Londoners as benefits are cut, housing waiting lists grow and fares rise.
Yet as thousands lose their jobs, homes and savings, it won’t be David Cameron who will feel the immediate political pinch.
Instead it will be an army of lesser known London politicians “set free” by the government to take a greater share of responsibility and blame for the cuts.
Local authorities will be given huge new powers over spending, but hugely less money to spend. And so by localising the pain, Cameron hopes to avoid centralising the blame.
But the problem with giving away power is that those given it will often use it against you.
The first sign of this came last month when David Cameron had a major public falling out with London’s best-known local politician Boris Johnson.
For months Boris had boasted that he would launch a “Stalingrad-like defence” of London’s budget, but in the end London was given no better a deal than any other region of the UK.
The Mayor had argued that London was the “motor of the UK economy” and yet Cameron cut TfL’s grant by 21% and slashed his development fund by over £400 million.
Shortly afterwards he hit back, warning that government cuts to housing benefit risked a “Kosovo-style social cleansing” in London.
Rather than accept this as the personal view of a devolved politician, Number Ten responded by openly briefing against Boris for the first time.
One paper was told that Cameron was “bristling with anger” and another reported that Boris’s wish to be given more powers over housing “would almost certainly now be rejected” as a result.
This last threat proved to be an effective one and Boris quickly retracted his opposition.
But while the Mayor was left looking both disloyal and weak, Cameron had failed his first as a Prime Minister committed to devolving power.
Because while he had promised a “radical shift in power from the centre” his former PR man’s instinct to control the political message at all times had won the day.
But while this may have suited Cameron in the short term, history has shown that such “control-freakery” will often prove counter productive.
In London many of the seats that Cameron needed to win the general election were fought by candidates from Cameron’s so called “A list”.
Determined to control the party’s image at all levels Cameron sidelined local candidates in favour of his own brand of modern conservatives.
And yet right across the capital Cameron’s “A-list” candidates spectacularly failed to secure the victories that the bookies and pollsters had predicted were theirs.
By losing those seats, Cameron failed to get the kind of overall majority and mandate that Boris himself had received just two years before.
And without that mandate Cameron became vulnerable to exactly the kind of attacks launched by Boris in recent months.
Of course rivalry between Boris and Dave is always to be expected, but it’s the decisions that other locals authorities make that could really put Cameron’s commitment to localism to the test.
Because across London, many councils will make deeply unpopular choices that Cameron will then feel forced to defend.
But in order to successfully exercise power, Cameron must first accept the consequences of giving it away.
And as Cameron passes more of the pain down, he must get used to others passing more of the blame back up as well.
02 Nov 2010
Jellied Eels: News from around the boroughs
ONE Another month, another boroughmance. Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham announced marriage plans, with services and staff across all levels to merge. Unlike the union between Labour councils Camden and Islington last month, this Conservative three-way has invited identity loss fears. According to the Evening Standard, the merger has no inbuilt accountability mechanisms. The paper also questions Westminster’s financial muscle in future decision making.
TWO The recent Comprehensive Spending Review, no doubt, provides fertile ground for amalgamation. Whilst it was mildly transparent about the kick up in London transport costs, the Boroughs are only beginning to digest their budget cuts. Enfield will cop the average yearly loss of 7.25% through staff cuts, with North London Today estimating 400 jobs kaput. Bexley thinks 280 personnel will hit the road, whilst Hounslow is bracing to save £18 million next year through redundancies ‘in the hundreds’.
THREE Prior to the national review, Barnet had set plans for up to £10 million in cuts to children’s services. The Londonist reports that the easyCouncil will now be slicing deeper, with the Leader revealing that their flagship programme had cost more finding proficiencies than it saved.
FOUR Local democracy was at its most potent in Tower Hamlets last month, with independent Lutfur Rahman elected the first Mayor. His first council meeting saw him commit to ‘fight for the people of Tower Hamlets’. However, as the East London Advertiser notes, he ‘was saddened’ that the first matter of business was a downgrade in his salary.
The election has messy implications for the Labour party and new leader Ed Miliband. Not only are they embarking on a ‘serious post mortem’ following low voter turnout and the overwhelming defeat by their former nominee, the Guardian suggests that their local efforts were also undermined. Ken Livingstone, the London 2012 Mayoral candidate supported the Respect-backed Rahman days before the vote.
02 Nov 2010
Snipe Highlights
Some popular articles from past years
- A unique collection of photos of Edwardian Londoners
- Summer Camp: Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days
- The five spookiest abandoned London hospitals
- Hope and despair in Woolwich town centre
- Silencing the Brick Lane curry touts could be fatal for the city's self-esteem
- Could red kites be London's next big nature success story?
- Only 16 commuters touch in to Emirates Air Line, figures reveal
- An interview with Desiree Akhavan
- Number of people using Thames cable car plunges
- London has chosen its mayor, but why can’t it choose its own media?
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