 In December 2014, my sister and I went to the Christmas Market at Southbank Centre and Tate Modern along the River Thames. The markets are only here for the christmas/ winter season, from early December to early January. There were lots of festive yummy food and drinks around, for example gingerbread houses, chocolate and mulled wine. Tinsels everywhere to spell the festive season. Here are some photos I took from yesterday's outing. 
 Lady from the handmade soap store in Tate Modern Christmas Market smiling for the camera  My sister ready to eat her food       LDF 2015: 17-29 September.  Perplex tunnel, Mise-en-abyme by Matteo Fogale, Laetitia De Allegri and Johnson Tiles. Exhibited at the V&A Museum, London, United Kingdom. This was an immersive installation located between the bridge over the Medieval and Renaissance galleries in the V&A.  Barnaby Barford: the Tower of Babel.A tower of miniatures of shops that are local to London, which tells an array of stories about the capital city of United Kingdom, as a society, economy and as consumers.   The Cloakroom by Faye ToogoodCool stylized emoji coats to keep us warm (or way too warm) whilst looking at the map attached on the coat to find all the statues of this coat.The navigational coats by Toogood were made from Highfield by Kvadrat, a high-tech compressed-foam textile and each has been hand-treated to render it unique. In addition, the design of this coat were based on the voluminous Oil Rigger coat, one of the first coats designed for the Toogood brand.   I wore the biggest size coat available on my petite frame to keep my whole body warm ;) Curiousity Cloud by mischer'taxler    This year (2015) is my first time attending the London Design festival and I went to the biggest venues (from V&A, Shoreditch and central London, more blogposts on individual places). I thought the LDF's collection in V&A created an interesting juxtaposition with the permanent exhibitions that are mostly traditional and historical works of art. The images above are the few that I enjoyed looking at the most out of the collection. I liked the light bulbs one (Curiousity Cloud by mischer'taxler) the best because it was really imaginative and I could spend hours looking at it.
 Right before Christmas, I went to the Borough Market in London Bridge for a short day trip, to be out and about the city. The place was decorated with pretty colours to welcome the Christmas that is approaching. I enjoyed spending my time there, walking around tasting different foods as well as the soaking in the festive spirit. The place was filled with the smell of mulled wine, cinnamon, smokey barbecue and many more delicious sensations. The photographs above were some that I took that day. This is one of my last favourite moments of 2014.
  Cute cake art by the Free From Bakehouse   Hot Chillies as Christmas tree ornament  Gingerbread men by the Free From Cakehouse
 Mistletoes  The White Cube Gallery has three locations, two are located in South London, United Kingdom and one is in Hong Kong. This exhibition I went to is the main White Cube Gallery located in Bermondsey, London. (for more contact information, please scroll to the bottom)  Robert Irwin 2 x 2 x 2 x 2  Installation by Cerith Wyn Evans  Robert Irwin 2 x 2 x 2 x 2  Cerith Wyn Evans  Cerith Wyn Evans's work that made my friends look like they've switched heads.  Robert Irwin 2 x 2 x 2 x 2  Cerith Wyn Evans' work  Me standing behind Cerith Wyn Evans' work There were two artists works exhibiting at the White Cube Gallery in Bermondsey. One is Cerith Wyn Evans and the other is Robert Irwin last year. They both have lights installations but the composition and design of their pieces are very different to the other.
Robert Irwin is one of the pivotal figures in recent American art and his exhibition is called 2x2x2x2. This exhibition brings together fluorescent works, transparent acrylic columns and a diptych. The juxtaposition of the different materials created an interesting energy and atmosphere between them. I especially enjoy looking at the acrylic sculpture by this artist, because you are able to see different objects in focus from different angles of viewing at this piece. Cerith Wyn Evans is a Welsh conceptual artist. His work take form through the reflection on and interrogation of the world about us. For this exhibition, his works focused on ideas around the flows of energy via material. He uses lights to show signs of immaterial conduits, circuitry and choreology. I especially enjoy his work, although some of the light sculptures was a bit too bright to look at if I view the work for too long, over all, it was interesting to see how the artist used lights to form different shapes and lines out of this material and the result of it. This exhibition is showing till the 15th of November this year, which is in 2 weeks! I would recommend going there for an evening visit after work or a weekend visit along with Borough's Market nearby for lunch. Click here to read more about Borough's Market, London.  Tree Sculptures These tree sculptures are placed right in the courtyard of the entrance of Burlington House, Royal Academy of Art before the entrance of the building into the exhibition. The sculptures reminded me of the scary forests in Snow White but they also have a peaceful look to them. If you look closer to them, they actually have quite smooth edges.  Marble grass and baby pram.  Surveillance Camera in Marble.  This is one of the wall paper at the exhibition, which reflects on how the government monitor social media/ internet in China.  'F**k the Government' wallpaper. Middle finger graphic created into 'Romantic' motifs.  Wooden benches made into a sculpture.  Wooden benches made into a sculpture.  In this piece of work, the glass jars are filled with dust that was crushed from antiques pottery and normal ones. Wei wei tries to make the point that from dust we come, and dust we return.  Many times it is the story behind how the artwork is made or the intention instead of the final product. This artwork (images above and below) consists of more than thousands of metal bar that was used for construction buildings. Wei wei acquired these metal bars from Sichuan, a province that suffered a tragic earthquake that killed many in China. Because the earthquake happened in the daytime when many students are at school, many children and adolescents were killed from collapses of their schools. Many has speculated that the reasons the buildings in that province collapsed were because of poor infrastructures and there may be corruption in between building time, where government officers may have pocketed some of the money. Despite not having enough evidence, Ai weiwei was determined to find out the amount of students that were killed through this incident. The metal bars seen in the photograph were actually crooked before but AIweiwei and his team straightened the metal bars out into its original forms, before it was used for construction to make a political statement about the government and perhaps its corruptions. In this room, the walls are filled with names and age of the students that were killed from this earth disaster.    Bicycle Chandelier   Being questioned Because Ai Weiwei's artwork is very political and directly criticising the Chinese government, there are times when he was locked up and questioned. The images here are sculptures that he made to document his experience.  Being watched 24/7, even when sleeping.  Being watched even when going to the toilet.  Me being too excited to see this master's work 
This is a sculpture made of metal bicycles by Ai Weiwei, a famous and radical Chinese artist. The sculpture is located outside of the famous Gherkin building in London, United Kingdom. If you happened to pass by the Gherkin or near Aldgate area, it's definitely worth it to stop by and appreciate some art.
For more artworks of Ai Weiwei, please go on my link here: Ai Weiwei's exhibition.  Up, Up and Away was an art installation by French artist Charles Pétillon for Convent Garden Market, London. This installation consisted 100,000 giant white balloons that filled the grand interior of this 19th Century Market Building. The size of this installation was around 54m in length and 12m in width. This installation was a month long. This installation was very impressive and imaginative.     The sun just came in at the right moment.  I'm up in the clouds, in my own mind  Daydreaming.  Here are some pictures of artworks exhibited at Somerset House, London for the London Design Festival 2015. Click here to find out more on their website.  hugging the shell Frozen Waves and Broken Sublimes by Marc QuinnThis was the first time Quinn's installation was presented outdoors and the sculptures originate from the remnants of shells. The installation is located in the court yard of Somerset House, which contains fountains, this juxtaposition emphasis the work's connection to water. Marc Quinn   The Drawing Room by Faye ToogoodThis is Toogood's modernized version of the traditional English drawing room which is covered by charcoal sketches background. The juxtaposition between the solid rock materials of the furniture and the thin layered background balances out the 'strong and weak' elements.   The Wave by Alex Rasmussen and Neal FeayThis interactive installation was made with aluminium panels in a reflecting crystalline shades of Pacific blue  PATTERNITY with Paperless Post Connected by PatternThis interactive installation that hopes to create spaces that connect us with others. It is an immersive piece that invites us to experience patterns in a different way.   My Grandfather Tree by British artist, Max LambThe artist made stools, tables and chairs of different shapes and sizes from a tree that was rotting in his grandfather's farm. Lamb tried to keep the tree in its most original form as possible by cutting the material into sections at regular intervals and only made alterations of the top and bottom in order to give function to the material. For more information about his artworkclick here.   Volcano Maki I went to Dozo Sushi, Soho, London a week ago with friends who highly recommended this restaurant. I can confirm to their recommendation that the food at Dozo was delicious. If you are an authentic sushi lover, this might not be your taste, however for those who love fusion cuisine this is just the right restaurant for you. It took us around 45 minutes to wait in line from 6:30 pm (to be fair, we went on a Saturday night) but the long wait was worth it! We ordered 5 dishes Nasu Dengaku (grilled aubergine with sweet miso dressing & sesame seeds), Grilled Unagi (grilled eel), Volcano Maki and 2 Dragon Makis to share among the four of us and had a main dish each. My belly was about to pop by the time the the 5th sharing dish arrived. So if you're in for a light meal, ordering a sushi maki is enough. The Nasu Dengaku was tender and drenched in a sweet miso dressing that enhanced the flavour of the aubergine. (see more comments below)  Dragon Maki Dragon Maki consists of jumbo prawn, asparagus, avocado, tobiko, ikura, eel sauce and mayonnaise. The eel sauce really went with the crispy jumbo prawns and avocado. This is a good dish to order.  Volcano Maki Volcano Maki, it consists of eel, leeks, bonito flakes, eel sauce, avocado mayonnaise and fish roe on top. There are 8 pieces, two stacked as one, so made it perfect to share for four. I could taste the flavour of eel, mayonnaise and bonito flakes which was a great combo, with avocado on the side adding to the creaminess of the whole thing. Definitely recommend this dish, I think it is a must eat!  Dragon Maki (Mango Version) Dragon Maki (mango version) consist of jumbo prawn, asparagus, avocado, tobiko, ikura, eel sauce and mayonnaise usually but this version add a twist, which was suggested by the waiter since we ordered two of these. Instead of wrapping the maki with avocado, it was wrapped with mangos and served with soft shell crap instead. The mango slices added a sweetness to the rice and soft shelled crap, a mix of crispy and sweet.  Unagi Don (Eel with Rice) Unagi Don which is grilled fresh eel with eel sauce on rice. The eel was grilled just to the right amount, soft and juicy on the inside with a bit of chewy texture on the outside. I've had bad grilled eels before which was either too dry or too raw, which made me gone off eels in general but this time I was able to regain my trust in Unagi Don. The sauce was seasoned well, which was not too sweet or salty. I would recommend this to seafood/ fish lover!
Overall, Dozo Sushi was better than my expectation and I thoroughly enjoyed the food there. If you're in London and looking for yummy Japanese (fusion) restaurant, definitely give this a try. Comment below your thoughts and let me know if you've tried this place before and what you think. :) Happy eating. For more information on Dozo Sushi, Soho, London, United Kingdom click here. |
Welcome JetsettersHi Jetsetters, welcome to my blogisphere. I am Esther, your guide for today! I hope you will enjoy this tour of my visual travel diary. @jetsesther on instagram
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