Sage Vaughn: Nobody's Home - Lazarides Gallery

Literally nobody home! Although the gallery says its open Tuesday to Saturday till 7pm, it was locked and empty when I visited half an hour ago!

Oh well, I had a good peep through the window and the paintings looked beautiful. Soft colours, everyday home scenes with bright birds and butterflies looking at the same time out of place as well as perfectly natural.

It's pouring with rain so I didn't remain long to ponder from outside the window, but if the show didn't finish tomorrow I'd like to try visit again. Even though it is one of those intimidating looking galleries where you feel out of place and noisy and scruffy.

http://www.lazinc.com/

Britain: One million years of the human story at Natural History Museum

Of course I loved this exhibition. Not only am I fascinated by how people live but I'm fascinated by the ice age and how people began. This is probably a lot due to my love of Jean Auel's Earths Children books, the first four of which I've re-read repeatedly since I was 13. The stories follow Ayla, an early modern human child who comes to be taken care of by a group of neanderthals. The detail is epic without being boring and describes so many imagined societies and culture.

Anyway, the exhibition tells the story of human life in Britain. You can actually touch replicas of their tools! And watch video of how the tools were made! And did you know hippos used to live in this country back in the day when we were still attached to Europe?? There were hippos right where Trafalgar Square is! They have maps showing how things looked attached to Europe and gradually changing into an island.

There are skeletons on hippos and other animals in the exhibition. Bones with knife marks on so they know the animals were hunted by people. Giant antlers. Magnified images of pollen which is how they can tell what kind of plants were about. Models showing a neanderthal and an early modern human.

The climate changed a lot over the millions of years, from hot for hippos, to too cold for anyone. Neanderthals and homosapiens both lived here and there was interbreeding. Many people today actually have neanderthal DNA. There is video at the end where people have found out how much neanderthal they have. So interesting.

I might actually visit again because I want to absorb more.

On till 28 Sept 2014


Links:

Britain: One million years of the human story
Earth's Children

Wildlife Photographer of the Year at Natural History Museum

I always enjoy this annual exhibition. Although every year it seems to get more crowded! So many beautiful photos though. Elephants greeting each other in the distance in black & white simplicity surrounded by sparse trees. A sunlit field of flowers. A view of trees from under water, framed by bubbles.

Here are two of my favourites.

Simplicity by Valter Binotto - blurred dew around a delicate violet.

Twin Hope by Diana Rebman - the MOST adorable baby twin gorillas in their mothers arms. No one I've excitedly shown my baby gorilla postcard to seems to think they're as cute as I do but I can't stop melting when I look at them!

Wildlife photographer mainly celebrates nature and its beauty but also at the end there are photographs showing how it is being destroyed. There seemed to be less of this, this year but there are some traumatising photos of elephants killed for ivory. It was really upsetting. Although the elephants had no heads, the guys who worked in the wildlife park could still tell which elephants they were as they had cared for them closely for so long.

I think the destruction hits harder after having looked at so many intimate photographs of life and beauty. I hope this exhibition can help us to think of the environment and creatures that live here. It's so hard to be good, everything seems to be bad. I'm slowly making tiny steps. I usually only eat free range meat. (I'm not ready to be a vegetarian but at the very least I think farm animals should be well treated and respected) I'm starting to avoid palm oil (I'm unclear on the details but I believe deforestation to get palm oil is destroying habitats). Sometimes it feels like these small things don't matter and can never make a difference and I get embarrassed if I have to mention it because people think I'm being ridiculous. But little by little attitudes do change and little by little things can change.

On till 23 March 2014.


Links:

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Diana Rebman

Valter Binotto

Compassion in World Farming

Say no to palm oil

World Wildlife Fund

Astronomy Photographer of the Year at Greenwich Observatory

Wow. I didn't know you could take pictures like this from the ground. Incredible. And I loved that the text explained how each photograph was taken on one side and then the other side explained what we were looking at.

My favourite image is Hi. Hello. by Ben Canales which shows a tiny person looking up at the stars. When I didn't live in London (where you cannot see the stars), I used to stand outside gazing up, feeling like I could drown in the sky and it was so beautiful.

Links:

Ben Canales

Astronomy Photographer of the Year

Walking from Howick Hall Gardens along the coast to Craster

One of my favourite walks, it's so beautiful. I'm somewhat in love with Northumberland and have visited every year for the past 3 years. Currently wondering if I can go twice this year...

Also, Howick Hall was the home of Earl Grey (as in the tea!) and the gardens are definitely my favourite gardens I can think of. So natural and sprawling yet considered. And also there's a tea room and one table has a window seat in front of a bird table so you can drink tea and look at birds up close!

Cheapside Hoard at Museum of London

A mystery! Workmen demolishing buildings in 1912 smashed through a cellar floor and discovered piles of sparkling jewellery! Hidden treasure that had been abandoned. And it's the largest collection of Elizabethan/Stuart jewellery in the world.

There's background history to begin with including an actual mocked up jewellery workshop based on a drawing from that time, shop signs and a beautiful painting that shows London before the Great Fire.
Then you go round a corner and there is so much delicate sparkling decadent jewellery! Some is so tiny and detailed! Magnifying glasses are provided for closer looks but I preferred looking with just my eyes. I find the smallness beautiful. I saw pieces from the official photos and they are much more beautiful and tiny in real life.

There are paintings on the walls showing how the pieces may have been worn and also videos showing close ups.

I particularly loved a case of pearl pendants. The pearls were a bit decayed, not having enjoyed their time in the cellar, but still lovely and attached to intricate little teardrop shaped cages. There were also the most amazing tiny buttons encrusted with precious stones and yet not ugly! Sounds so ugly in my head but it wasn't.

There is a pin with a tiny ship on it, there's an emerald watch, there's an amazing perfume bottle. Folks used perfume to cover the stench of the times and Roja Dove created a perfume that may be similar to theirs and you can smell it from behind a little door in the wall! And there is much more than I mention,I've only mentioned my favourite things.

As you leave you can watch a short film wondering who might have hidden the hoard and why they never came back. The hoard was hidden before the Great Fire and at a time of civil war. The film tells a possible story and suggests more.

Museum of London is one of my top museums. The permanent collection is fantastic, so informative, interesting and fun and so far I've always enjoyed their exhibitions and events.

Security is high as the hoard is so valuable so you are required to put your coat and bag in a locker which costs £1. I never usually bother to use a cloakroom so it was kind of nice to do it this once but I was lucky I had the change on me as I didn't realise ahead of time.

On till 27 April.

Links:

Cheapside Hoard

Thames Walk/Albert Bridge

A beautiful evening walk along the Thames from Chelsea Harbour to Vauxhall. I'd never walked that bit of the Thames before. I liked Albert Bridge lots, all lit up and pink!