Jonathan Kroppmann – Ahem

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Jonathan Kroppmann…. Literally just stumbled across this and thought it was beautiful. Love indie tattoo men… that is all…. For some photography book…

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Damien Hirst… like. hate. respect. contempt. in awe. I could do that. etc. etc. etc.

Damien Hirst. He is like marmite, some think he is an arrogant so and so, the fact he does not actually dirty his hands with his art very often and that he gets assistants to do the pieces irks me a little bit. There are those who thinks that he is a brilliant artist, commenting on society and the world we live in and it’s issues. I half agree with both viewpoints.

Pilled up

My view changed some what after seeing the body of work and reading the background info, I went with an open mind but was pretty sure I would still think he was a bit of a twerp, someone who lucked out a little bit and had become famous more through the PR machine and his shock subject matter. Now I still think the above is true but I also think he has created some truly beautiful pieces, some very thought provoking ideas and challenged people to look at themselves and every day items in a different fashion.

Self medicate

One of the most beautiful pieces is also one of the more disgusting, I am not referring to the cows head, nor the cow cut in half, not the fly electrocuter, the one that really has an impact is the huge wall mounted circle of flies, Black Sun. To look at it is visually stunning but it also stinks, the juxtaposition of beauty and the rancid smell is quite an eye opener

Pretty Fly

Hirst’s work with butterflies is quite a sight too, beit the room with live butterflies or the huge floor to ceiling murals featuring symmetrical butterflies and paint work.

Regardless of what you think, you should go and see this exhibition as it will probably never happen again in your lifetime and the Tate Modern is a brilliant setting for it. If for no other reason than Hirst is probably in need of the cash, that can be the only reason that he is selling painted skulls for £36k…. right?

Then there is the shark, love the shark

Were going to need a bigger tank

Things I’ve seen…. Barcelona pt.I

You have to love this city, it is vibrant, the people are cool, the music scene is good and it is home to one of the best festival breaks in the calendar…. more of that next time though.

Caught with nightlife

Got to say that the number of word pieces was immense, some cool stuff and I’ll need another visit without such a huge amount of partying to record more.

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Little more pictorial types now. Love a good stencil at StandardFact. Love a lil bit of humour too, the world’s recent rejection of a certain Banksy

The anti-Banksy

Every shop shutter has paint on it, beit paid for street art, tagging, scribbles or original unsolicited pieces. Street art becomes the retail norm

Record shop per chance….?

More to come soon…..

Wall of truth

Needs not explaining really… brilliant new addition to the canals of Hackney

Not worth thinking about really…

Things I’ve seen….

Liking Hackney Wick more and more recently, lots of random piece popping up all over the place. And some at a very simple yet effective level. These pieces may not be seen by our Olympic visitors this summer but heading down for a mooch is well worth your time.

EFE… who is this?

The better more creative, more thought provoking bits are never in the most populated parts of town

Hackney Love

The uncomfortable truth is Wearing thin

I like things that are a a little uncomfortable to watch, that make you re-evaluate what you are seeing, hearing and taking away from the exhibition.

Desperate

The Gillian Wearing exhibition is very much a naked truth thing, it can sometimes be a little uncomfortable to watch, there are times when I sniggered like a pre-pubescent boy and other times when the story warmed.

Smile and the world….

The exhibition at the Whitechapel has imagery, story telling and acting, the one thing that every piece does is play with identity and our pre-conceptions. Be it through adults miming the words of a child, the artist herself photographed in the guise of others such as Andy Warhol or the rather disturbing confessions of people hidden behind elaborate masks and wigs.

Ever so slightly creepy…

One of the best pictures I have ever seen. Fact

Religion – It is quite funny

Proud to achieve most of these...

Religion is right queer int it. This made me chuckle, I think I have successfully achieved an ‘unhealthy’ amount of these. Only one I can say for sure I have not…. can you guess which one?

Spotted on Vice

Prison Chic

I have a weird and maybe wonderful and almost certainly disturbing fixation with prisons, in particular American ones, I Sky+ America’s Toughest Jails and am intrigued by the tribal mentality driven by gangs and racism born out of a need to survive. I also find these tattooed, toned inmates pretty damn hot too

 

Prison love

I am also interested in how prisons try to rehabilitate rather than just punish, I think the vast majority of prisoners have the capacity to change with the exceptions of the clinically insane murderers.

 

Unhinged? Nah... misunderstood

I have a friend in jail for making a stupid mistake and while he has been in there (3 years) he has knocked the drugs on the head, got fit in the gym, done an accounting course is learning Mandarin and read more books than he can name. This is not always the case and not all prisoners will take the opportunities.

In Eastern Europe a company called Heavy Eco have come up with a great way to harness the latent talent within these institutions , potentially awakening a talent and then donating 50% of the profits to Estonia’s poor and needy. The inmates get paid a small amount and it also means they are repaying their debt to society.

The tshirts sell across Europe and while I would not personally be seen in one even if it meant saving myself from the firing squad on death row in Alabama, I can imagine them doing a roaring trade in Clapham and Balham. Anything that is benefiting chaaardiy is a good thing after all.