Frieze

The Frieze Art Fair is such a mammoth event. Artsy folk from all corners of the globe descend on London to attend the most prominent contemporary art fair in Europe. My Sunday was spent battling the crowds, gazing at art, becoming completely overwhelmed and disorientated, needing numerous breaks and forgetting what I had seen / what I hadn’t seen (I swear it all looked the same towards the end).

Eventually I headed home, everything seemed like a blur, and I had the worst art headache ever (worse then my trip to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa). But somehow I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I feel really inspired by the world of contemporary art around me.

My favourite pieces from the day were….

Grayson Perry’s embroided quilt (I didn’t capture any names of artworks whilst I was there – ooops sorry). I don’t really care what people say about that dress wearing oddball. I think Grayson Perry is great. I love the crafty feeling to his artworks, but he is totally obscene at the same time. I find his work really fascinating to look at. His works are so detailed, they are a sensory delight.

David Shrigley’s screen prints were also really awesome. I mainly liked these because there was a huge print of a black and white skull. I love skulls and David Shrigley is also really funny so this was a perfect combo.

I am not too sure who the artist was of this piece… But there was a pile of large molar sculptures in the corner of one of the gallery spaces. I really liked this piece because it reminds me of my friend Hariet in New York. She made this amazing little tooth pot in ceramics class and I was really impressed by it.

There was this also great piece of art which was made up of old bits of jewellery. It was like a pirates delight! It looked like a glitzy and shiny treasure chest mounted to the wall. The magpie in me couldn’t keep away.


The most amazing artwork was Andreas Gursley’s ‘James Bond Island II’. This is possibly the most beautiful photograph I have seen in a very long time. It felt really still and calming to look at. That is an awesome feat given the fact that I was standing in the midst of an art viewing feeding frenzy...


And here are more snapshots of other great artworks from Frieze. Thanks to the lovely Katrin for taking pictures. She is a far better photographer then me!

Pearly Kings and Queens

A few weeks ago I was having a conversation with my boyfriend about Pearly Kings and Queens. I have been fascinated with them for a while now (it is such an amazing and unusual tradition). My boyfriend (who is English) had no idea what I was talking about and thought I was just being a ranting foreigner who had created some sort of English mystical creature.

When I checked the Tatty Devine website this morning I was absolutely delighted to see her new collection called Button Up which is a tribute to the East End’s Pearly Kings and Queens. The new collection has buttons, heart brooches, anchor necklaces and bow earrings which are a reflection of the Pearlie’s costumes.

Tatty Devine is also donating £1 from Pearly King brooch and necklace sales to the Pearly Kings and Queens Association. Such an awesome idea!

In Tatty Devine’s East London shop there is also an exhibition of Pearlie portraits by photographer Harry Dutton (see below). Their costumes are so amazing. I love all the little details. Imagine how heavy they must be though!

Art Nouveau

I have been writing quite a bit on shoes lately. I promise that there are other thoughts flitting through my brain but in the mean time I really needed to express my love for Kerrie Luft's new collection of shoes called 'Nouveau'.

Maybe it is the art historian in me (mixed with the shoe-a-holic), but how great would it be shimmy-ing along the footpath in these Art Nouveau inspired babies? The shoes in 'Nouveau' are as ornamental and striking looking as Victor Horta's hotel in Brussels.

They are so sophsticated, decorative and elegant! Truly amazing.

Ahoy Matey!

After seeing the Jeff Koons Popeye Collection at the Serpentine Gallery I have become crazy about sailors and all things nautical again.

I can totally understand why nautical becomes the hot fashion trend to follow every summer. It is fresh, clean and classic. Looking into my jewellery box I notice a common theme – boats and anchors. My wardrobe every year is loaded with stripes, anchor prints and cute dresses with sailor inspired necklines.

As we head towards to end of summer in London I am making the most out of the nautical look (nautical looks wrong when the weather is cold, nobody wants to think about the ocean when they are freezing their little toes off!)

On Saturday when I wandered along Oxford Street, I decided to rock a Topshop striped tee-shirt, my red bow headband and an anchor necklace for the ultimate nautical look. Hello Sailor!

Ascension of Polka Dots on Trees

Some evenings when the weather is fine I walk along the Thames after work. It gives me time to clear my head, daydream and most importantly look at the pretty polka dot trees. They are so enchanting and childlike; I cannot get enough of them at the moment.

These trees are part of an art project by Yayoi Kusama called ‘Ascension of Polka Dots on Trees’. Kusama started getting hallucinations as a child and all she could see were polka dots covering the walls, objects around her and her body. Literally everything she could see was covered in spots. Like Minnie Mouse, Kusama’s trademark is polka dots. She covers objects, peoples and trees in different coloured polka dots as a reflection of how she sees the world around her.

I think this artwork is delightful and incredibly charming. Who feels sad or grumpy with polka dots around them?