1) Apparently I lied when I said that I would be updating my blogposts more frequently. Part of the reason I have been slow in doing so is because there is really nothing much that I've done in the past two weeks - other than lazing around in bed, hiding in my room, and sleeping and waking at erratic times. But on Saturday, my friends (Sai, Malavika, Karen) and I did get up to doing something - namely a visit to Tate Modern, and Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park.
2) We first met at the Tate Modern, a modern art gallery which is part of the Tate Group (together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, and Tate Online). Its location is really special too, as it is housed in the former Bankside Power Station, which was at risk of demolition for many years. Another fun fact - just this year, the Tate Modern overtook the British Museum as the most visited attraction in UK! As Captain Nemo (of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea fame) said - great art and music live forever. After meeting up at the second floor, we proceeded scrutinising the free artworks on the second, third, and fourth floor.
3) As I walked through each gallery, I was reminded by an orchestral piece by Mussorgsky, "Pictures at an Exhibition", which as the name suggests, portrays a visitor walking through an art display whilst background music shifts the mood according to each art piece. While looking at each piece, it became clear to me that art, as with most things in life - is subjective. Before reading the descriptions behind each painting, it was anyone's guess what the artist's intention or motive was, but it nevertheless encouraged us to think and reflect.
4) I personally appreciate realistic (or hyperrealistic) paintings, which would unfortunately not feature heavily in the art that we saw. Still, it was still really fun to read each description and understand the story behind each piece. Perhaps one day I'll actually take the time to study the many art styles and become a collector myself. One day..
5) When we had finished all three levels of free paintings, we headed to the top floor (on level 10) for a beautiful panoramic view of the night sky. It was getting late, so after some nice photos, we made plans for our second stop - Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. At this point, I was feeling really hungry, so we stopped by to have some German sausages. There were so many rides and challenges, that Sai decided to give it a go at balloon popping and hoops. In the end, he won a cute little plush toy for his hard work. As we approached the Bavarian Village, we saw that stalls and attractions were beginning to close. Soon, we were ushered to the exit - thus ending our lovely night out.
6) It was a genuine delight coming out to do some sightseeing with friends, and hopefully we'll get some other cool stuff done in the future. But for now, it's time to contemplate my next challenge - preparing adequately for our Module 2 exams. That's all for this edition of my blog, thanks very much for visiting, and have a lovely week ahead. And in case I forget - Happy New Year 2020! Cheers! :)
From l-r: Sai, Karen, Myself, Malavika @ Hyde Park Winter Wonderland
My Christmas lunch was seafood paella - frozen food as the whole of Camberwell (and I can imagine, the rest of the city) came to a halt
By the pier, just before nightfall
With Sai - friend and photographer :)
Tate Modern - Free and Open to All
Lots of people on a Saturday evening!
Fun Fact - this used to be the Bankside Power Station, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed the Battersea Power Station
View of St. Paul's Cathedral over the river, contrasting greatly with the modern Millennium Bridge leading to it
Ground Floor of the Tate Modern
(also called the Turbine Hall)
This is a piece by Kara Walker - an American contemporary artist and sculptor
(the public sculpture depicts a black boy up to his chest in a lake of his own tears in an open conch shell, a pearl in an oyster, drowning)
Only the second, third, and fourth floors (out of ten floors) had free exhibits, and this was the first one we went into
Walking past the various paintings gave us the opportunity to reflect on each one of them, before reading the backstory behind them
All subsequent paintings have a description (see the picture below for each)
Pectus excavatum
(strangely called "Pigeon-Chested Man"(which, in medical terms, is the exact opposite of this i.e. pectus carinatum))
I didn't know at first but these are actually chess pieces!
More abstract art :)
Lobster telephone - an art-piece by Salvador Dali,
apparently demonstrating an analogy between food and sex!
Deification of a Solider
Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna in the centre
Proptosis on the far right picture
I now know what industry to get into should I need a career change...
What was your first thought when looking at this?
Apparently, these are maggots and that black sculpture on the left is a shard of lightning
Group photo in a mirror, photobombed by angry kid XD
If only I had this much time in my life to be philosophical...
I'm sure there's lots of story behind all of these, but in their absence a shopping list would probably prompt more thinking and reflection
My mathematical equivalent would be infinity + my stress for exams = infinity
I don't know why but we decided on a "candid" photo so here goes...
That's a better group photo :)
KMK is our deceptively elegant group name
Tower of coloured lights brighter than my future
Everything is going to be...
Going to be alright - yeay!
The Shard was lit up with all sorts of colours that literally projected to the night sky
A different entrance to the Tate Modern
My smug face as we took the Tube to our next destination
Next stop - Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland!
I will never understand why we all decided to pose according to the poster XD
Impromptu group photo cuz why not?
Entrance to Winter Wonderland
As you can see - it was jam-packed with tourists and locals alike
Stopped by for some good 'ol Frankfurters with fried onions
Traditional German sausages
Absolutely famished at this point!
Ring Over The Battle - we used to call them "hoops"
Some really fun challenges to be had - including tossing hoops or dunking basketballs to win huge oversized plush toys
Beautiful Xmas tree whose colours matched my clothes :D
Literally getting closer to God
Chinatown in Winter Wonderland
Cute little pup won by our dear friend Sai
Not a victory sign, not even a failed attempt at a Vulcan salute (Star Trek), but rather the monetary cost of the cute plush toy (and nope, it wasn't £2)
We made it to the Bavarian Village just as the event was closing ):
A very photogenic passer-by
Malavika's social skills helping us make new friends - the guy in red shall forever be remembered as the "Tornado King" - for he serves tornado chips
