Sometimes it's good to just blend in...

I have a fascination with Peru at the moment being that I plan a trip there sometime soon. So it was with even more delight that I discovered that this body artist/ photographer was born in Lima, Peru. Her performances involve intricate design and detailed make up to her whole body in order to fit in with and become camouflaged to her background. In all she aims to virtually disappear and become one with her background. She says of her work,





"The illusion of 'disappearing' .. is a blending, she is now 'part of the landscape' in her quest of belonging. The theme behind it all is re-location after displacement and migration and how one has to adjust in order to belong. Tough it is, but it has to be done, without forgetting our origin."

The poses she puts herself in add to the drama, and where sometimes we see the whites of her eyes, you almost feel as if you are imposing on an intimate moment. However they are viewed, they are amazing.

Are You being Served? Exhibition.

Before I started my new job at Tribal, I managed to squeeze in a quick exhibition at the Bethnal Green museum of Childhood. As well as housing a large collection of dolls, toys and childhood memorabilia (remember Strawberry Shortcake!), the space at the front hosts exhibitions of local artists. The current one on show entitled Are you being Served is a collection of photographs by Tom Hunter, portraying the variety and communities of local shops in Hackney and Bethnal Green. All shot front on, to give the viewer the idea of what they may see if they were to be served by the subjects, it is fascinating to see them all as a collection. Yes, as individual images they are intriguing, but it is by seeing the whole series that you really get a feel for the area and the people that inhabit it. The shops give a hint as to the cultural mix of people that are drawn to theses areas and the services or products required. You also get a sense of which shops have staying power or may have been passed down through generations, even those not stopping.
What I liked about them was the great sense of human presence and activity within sometimes a very small space.

Peaceful London

I was really struck by this image in this month's Creative Review, created by artist Gregor Graf. By stripping streets of their commercial clutter, signage and advertising, the familiar Oxford Street becomes virtually unrecognisable. It's really quite liberating, and for me, reveals a beauty in what are usually quite mundane buildings. What an interesting concept.

Victoria

Soho

'Hidden Town' is on at the Austrian Cultural Forum until 4th April. More on the CR blog.