Got into town about 10.30 after some poor soul taken ill on the train at Sawbridgeworth. Walked down through Soho to the Photographer’s Gallery. Fashion in the Mirror show is a good one – nice magazine style programme on matt paper. Met Neythan at Embankment station and looked round a sailing shop nearby. Got some lunch at Leon – Spanish bistro type place. Across the river to the Hayward for Psycho Buildings show before it closes next week. Loved it. Especially the boating lake on the roof and Ernesto Neto’s Stone Lip, Pepper Tits, Clove Love, Fog Frog. A massive brown net tent with pendulous hanging brown net bollocks of pepper and cloves that made the space smell.
While waiting for Neythan at the Embankment, Paul Morley (Newsnight Review, the Art of Noise, Art Dir. for Frankie Goes to Hollywood) walked past in his trade mark dirty black suit. When I worked in Islington we often saw Gibert and George walking along Upper St and Tracey Emin or Shane McGowan in the pub. Makes you feel like you’re part of what’s going on. You don’t get that in Saffron Walden. Here I walk past Cain and Marlon Dingle, Carenza from Time Team and Ian Lavendar. It’s not the same.
There should be more pointless arty stuff around. There doesn’t need to be a pre-conceived use for it. There’s a fountain outside the Festival Hall that kids play in – it wasn’t designed for that purpose but it’s perfect for it none the less. The underpass is perfect for skateboarders – it wasn’t designed for that either. Last time I was here there was an astro-turf lawn that people used for picnics. And you never tire of watching kids running up and down the concrete ramp into the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern (not in a dodgy way).
