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March in Paris and London

10 April 2018

I had a wonderful trip to Paris, my first stop was the Palais De Tokyo. All the shows were spectacular

March in Paris and London
‘One and Other’ by Kader Attia & Jean-Jacques Lebel is questioning civilization itself with the use of props, artefacts, film footage, photographs and the above assembled bric a brac
March in Paris and London
A wonderful surprise was ‘DAIMYO - Warlords of Japan’ by George Henry Longly. Many of the works are borrowed from Musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet. It was challenging to grasp this complex exhibition which included underwater exploration combined with a museum-like display and very dramatic music and lights
March in Paris and London
Just as an example of the strength of work here, when descending the grand staircase there are some large sculptures by Anita Molinero
March in Paris and London
Another sculpture by Daiga Grantina, ‘Toll’ has the appearance of an almost living being
March in Paris and London
Of course the highlight for us was the project ‘L'Ennemi de mon ennemi’ by Neil Beloufa. Neil has rearranged history in the way it has been written by creating all sorts of new meanings and connections. Taking place a day after Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony, the women’s March in Washington used the image of the Star Wars heroine Princess Leia who leads the fight against the Empire, accompanied with slogans such as “A Woman’s Place is in the Resistance”
March in Paris and London
I enjoyed seeing the unwanted painting for Churchill of Churchill and in contrast the wanted paintings of Mr. and Mrs. Obama together
March in Paris and London
Seeing people taking portraits with Hitler in front of Auschwitz was very bizarre. I needed at least five hours to sift through this amazing show and alas 45 minutes was nowhere near enough time
March in Paris and London
After Paris, it was then time to go home to our amazing opening at the Zabludowicz Collection. We presented four films by Ericka Beckman. Her career spans over 30 years and looks at performance, video gaming and fairy tales. For me Ericka is the precursor of the video age, she was very much ahead of her time. As you walk in the gallery you are presented by Hiatus made between 1999 to 2015
March in Paris and London
Then onto Cinderella (1986), staring Mike Kelley, which is one of Ericka’s key works
March in Paris and London
Zabludowicz Collection’s Programme Director, Maitreyi Maheshwari, and Ericka gave a wonderful talk at 176
March in Paris and London
Also showing at the Zabludowicz Collection is Marianna Simnett, an artist a little younger than Ericka. Her work also reflects the relationship between robotic and bio technology. Here Marianna sits with Serpentine Galleries Curator of Public Programmes Lucia Pietroiusti, who first showed the work at the Serpentine in 2016 as part of their Park Nights
March in Paris and London
Hazel Brill, a recent Slade graduate, presents her very strong, mesmerizing ZC Invites exhibition. I certainly had my fill of great art this week