ENAMOURED

Celebrating 80 years of Revlon makeup, I attended the Enamoured: 80 Years of Revlon at the London Film Museum in Covent Garden a few weeks ago. It was only on for three days and I'm so happy to have caught this fleeting exhibit not only for the fabulous goody bag, but the innovative presentation of Revlon's history was super exciting to see! Curated by Ryan Lanji, the exhibit was full of colour and really brought to life the rich history that highlighted the innovative advertising techniques employed by this legendary beauty company.

The man who started it all... Mr. Charles Revson

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That Man, Lorna May Wadsworth, Acrylic, oil and Revlon nail enamel on canvas, 83x122cm

In 1991, Christian Louboutin used a red nail polish to coat the underside of his heels as a prototype for his new collection - 20 years on, Monsieur Louboutin is now infamous for his iconic red soles.

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Message in a Bottle, Alice Melita Steffen, Installation, 2012, Mixed Media: Glass, Wax, Shoes, Acrylic & Gloss Paint, Christian Louboutin shoes.

Enamoured Nails, Jenny Longworth, Installation, 2012, Mixed Media: Revlon Nail enamel, with embellishments

MWAHHHHH

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Baton Rouge, Linton Meagher, Installation, 2012, Mixed Media: Imitation Lipsticks, resin, Perpex. 

Harland Miller at White Cube Hoxton Square

WHITE CUBE HOXTON SQUARE IS CLOSING! Crazy, right!? Well, I checked out the venue’s final exhibit and it was fantastic! Until the 22^nd December, when the doors of this legendary gallery shut forever, the gallery will be exhibiting the works of Harland Miller. The show, The Next Life’s On Me, features a selection of paintings that resemble old book covers.

From figurative covers featuring tongue-in-cheek titles, to Miller’s appropriation of the marbled covers of old-fashioned Penguin poetry editions, the ground floor space engulfs the viewer with these oversized book covers. The marbled paintings are painted on walnut with luxurious metallic paints, exuding luxury and standing up as beautiful art objects, as well as demonstrating Miller’s stellar talent in painting. Miller achieves this stunning marble effect by thinning paint and working on the floor in the way that Jackson Pollock does. With made-up titles gracing Miller’s book covers, the works raised a smile on my face and made me want to immediately call up the bank, acquire the works, and hang them up in my living room!

On the first floor, Miller exhibits three paintings that immediately grabbed me. Darker in style with skull motifs gracing the bottoms of the works, amber and black dominating the palette, and humorous slogans such as ‘Fetish or Die, is health and safety killing bondage?’, I immediately loved the works and the three complimentary paintings seemed to epitomize the grunge of Hoxton – the area that so many people see as being transformed by the opening of the illustrious gallery in 2000.

A fabulous show, and a fitting end to a gallery that drastically altered the face of London’s art scene…

All shopped out!!

After a long day trawling all over London (LITERALLY all over, Canary Wharf to Hoxton to Covent Garden) shopping for others, SS and I made a short pit-stop at Brasserie Max at the Covent Garden Hotel for some tea and biscuits... such a lovely little place with gorgeous little treats and even more gorgeous wait staff! I ordered the fresh mint tea, which was very welcome and pepped me up for shopping round 2!

SHOOT!

Niki de Saint Phalle, Film-still of «Daddy», 1972, Coloured reproduction, Inkjet-Print, Sprengel Museum, Hanover

Shoot! Existential Photography at the Photographer’s Gallery on Ramillies Street was one of the most original exhibitions I’ve seen. Curated by Clément Chéroux, the exhibition focuses on the photographic shooting gallery, a practice I certainly was unaware of until attending this show. There is a heavy emphasis on the vocabulary of photography. Terms such as ‘loading’, ‘taking aim’, and ‘shooting’ suggest a link between killing with a gun and taking a photograph.

One of the works that dominates the 4^th Floor is an installation of a series of amateur pictures featuring Ria van Dijk, a Dutch woman who first started shooting at the photographic shooting gallery at her local fair in 1936. Her dedication to the sport is displayed in a series of photographs that span 72 years! The audience witnesses this woman age and the times around her constantly change.

Ria van Dijk over the years

The first photograph is a black and white image and shows a very youthful looking Ria. Surrounded my young friends, Ria stands upright, eyes sprightly and her hair styled in a sleek, dark bob. The most recent photograph, dated 2008, shows a much order Ria, now with grey hair, and much smaller in stature. Her walking stick lays on the stand, and in place of her friends, her family now surround her in this colour photograph.

Ria van Dijk in 1936

Ria van Dijk in 2008

The 5^th Floor is a much more interactive space. Firstly, there is a real shooting gallery which allows for visitors to try their hand at triggering the mechanics of a camera to create a self-portrait for £5 a pop! There is also an video installation by Christian Marclay, which was my favourite part of the show. Crossfire consists of four screens that are projected with scenes from Hollywood movies. Marclay isolates clips of movie stars firing guns at the camera, creating the illusion that they are firing at us. The work is incredibly fast paced and the sensation of being shot at really is heartstopping!

Don't shoot me Sly!

Shoot! Existential Photography by Clément Chéroux. Until January 6^th.