Petshop Eyes

DOLL BOY

I went to Tate Britain, my favourite art gallery, to see some David Hockney (above) and Tracey Emin's My Bed, which has been put on exhibition for the first time in years. As someone who appreciates the majority of Emin's work it was strange to see the actual artwork in the flesh for the first time, as it seemed so familiar. Emin's installation is slightly adjusted with each appearance it makes; this time is was flanked by a set of the artist's bold, blue watercolour nudes and Reclining Woman, a haunting painting by Francis Bacon.

The contrast of Emin's watercolours (2014), and the Bed itself (1998) are dramatic- the nudes show us a more confident, established woman, well within her comfort zone, whilst the bed has become s ghost of the past. The tiny-waisted belt, empty bottles of vodka and cigarettes surrounding the mass of sheets show how Emin has matured from a lost, slightly scrawny twenty-something year old into a self-aware and confident woman. The re-display of My Bed affirms her esteemed reputation, no longer "completely slagged off by the art world".

And indeed, the small crowd of Saturday onlookers did nothing but smile sort-of-knowingly when they walked into the installation room and gazed at the crumpled drapes and stained pillows. Perhaps because its familiarity through the press is a comfort to the general public, and perhaps because Emin's "confessional" artwork strikes a chord with us - we feel like she was a close friend to us. Seeing My Bed in real life made me want nothing more than to comfort the helpless thing that lived in it before anything, and then gave me a huge wave of nostalgia, as though I'd known Tracey forever.

This is an article I wrote for a school publication called Perspective about contemporary art's new agenda and escaping the avant-garde.

Yesterday evening I saw Flying Lotus live @ Brixton Academy, supported by Jay Electronica, Shabazz Palaces and Lapalux. The visuals were incredible, with Flying Lotus playing from the inside of a transparent cube, with cross-over projections of colour and kaleidoscopic shapes.                                                   

I also did some sketchbook work and I am done with my Art A Level!! I had an 8 hour exam in which I decided to make an installation inspired by Caravaggio's painting, The Supper At Emmaus in a digitalised, shrine-like update. It is composed of a painting, religious iconography and an old Apple laptop playing a slideshow of photos.

                             

            

                                                       Good luck with exams xoxoxo