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https://artslondon.padlet.org/rurquhart1/Our_Neighbourhood

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Today I went for a walk in a local park for the first time in a while. A company called Lost Art Limited is refurbishing this 110 year old Mac Farlane bandstand, who were famous in the late Victorian period for their decorative ironwork. Bandstands are iconic pieces of recreational outdoor 'furniture' and fell out of fashion in the 1950s/60s as music became electrified and moved indoors (apart from festivals, of course). But, I wonder now if bandstands like this could make a big comeback as we seek to hold safer communal parties and have more of a taste for the outdoors in the UK, post pandemic? Next time you're in a Victorian era park in the UK, have a look, there is a chance that there will be a bandstand somewhere.

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I've been walking this route for about 8 years, at least once a day - past the spooky doll in the window pub two doors from where I live. (see last post) but on Thursday when I went for a walk I discovered this tiny piece of ornate metalwork that appears to be a person on a horse carrying a scythe, ( a tool used for harvesting wheat) - this harks back to the time when where I live was deep in the countryside and  surrounded by wheat fields. This tiny design now one of the only reminders of a bygone age

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I don’t think I will ever read this board as I did before the pandemic. I would always think about the practical, literal way: “take care of not bumping your head”. But since the Lockdowns, my phone calls conversations have become a lot more mental health focused. It has become normal to discuss the “how are you?” More than 3 seconds. My entire mindset toward a conversation has changed and personal mental state will be mentioned, even in work environment.  This is a shift that, I believe, is positive and necessary. “Please mind your head” has become like a encouragement for self care. “Please take care of your mental health, we are living in challenging times and the fact that we are still here is already a success.”

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I find old map fascinating. Knowing about countries that disappeared, ones that were created, in a world and its representation that changed but still look alike.
In here, it’s the Northern part of Canada that sparked my thinking process. I  wonder what those place were called before French and English arrival. “Queen Elisabeth, Victoria, Prince of Wales” are only a few of the names that grabbed my attention. Were there places with names of First Nations chiefs on those place? How did the inside borders change? What would have a map looked like through the hands of First Nation before John Cabot landed in current Canada, in1497?
The history we are taught are very Western centric and the same power that invaded, commissioned historical representation. This is why old map are so interesting, it shows what was wanted to be seen. ( Europe continent being at the center of the majority of the maps displayed in our schools). To understand it, we must read them with attention and distance.

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Home is a very topical conversation at the moment. As we spend more time inside, have our homes changed our behaviour?
I had a phone call with a friend who told me «  I’m not going up to the end of the garden anymore ». It feels like our comfort zone are getting smaller and smaller. At the same time, does this not mean that we need less to be comfortable?
In front of this cold, would we not have rather be inside anyways ?
The lockdown is hard but the concept of not having to commute to the other end of the city to stay in a freezing room to talk to strangers about concepts we might or might not have cared about, makes it feel better.
If home is finally where we would have rather be, good news, we are.

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Behind my work there is an alpaca farm. Those animals are normally found in South America but in recent years, the trends of alpacas has grown and more people throughout Europe starting owning some. I wonder if this trend has an impact on environment? Like the avocado trend started environment disaster because the demands increase drastically and it is extremely water consuming. As a design affects its Environment, every aspect should be though through.

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I went for a walk recently, and found these two strangers under a bridge in Brick lane, giving away notes with Italian turn of phrases  and cake. After a social distanced chat I asked: "Why are you doing this?" "Because we are bored"

I found it brilliant...

**Photo: Brick lane, under the bridge, London.

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Conversations with Cultures Declares:

- I pondered on this in my solo walk in isolated brick lane
- And where did your ponder lead?
- Not far, I thought that it might be something that banks are doing for society but then the fact that it is a bank made me think that it might have some hidden aims
- Deeply embedded in finance, no matter how ethical, is the idea of growth
- I think it's referring to homeless people who sleep in sofas of friends and family for a short time... In America doing this won't label you as a homeless so people struggle to be put in waiting lists for housing... Might be similar in the UK I thought
- Yes our society more than ever is about owning Property!! It’s still based on land as capital...

Thoughts?
**Photo: Somewhere in Commercial Street, London.

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Lichens are 'extremophiles', which means that they survive in the most extreme environments and can be resuscitated after years dehydration. Lichens are the materialisation of the symbiotic relationship between a fungus and a photosynthetic partner. The fungus provides the structure of the lichen and the photosynthetic partner provides the food. Different combinations of these partners create the astounding variety of lichens found in nature.

In recent years, studies have found that lichens are also composed by many more living organisms like yeast and bacteria, all co-living and giving materiality to these new species.

This is convergence in evolution.  Usually, species are the result of evolutionary divergence - from one species, many others come to life during the passing of time. In this case, many species come together to make another species. It is mind-boggling that we are now starting to have proof of more nuances and complexities in nature. Thinking deep about this,  it is easy to lean on new perceptive mindsets around individuality as the bodies of humans per se would not exist without our symbiotic relationship with, for instance, the bacteria in our guts!

For more on this, read chapter "The Intimacy of Strangers" from the book Entangled Life: How fungi make our world, change our minds and shape the future by Merlin Sheldrake. **Photo: lichens on a brunch in a park near Brick Lane, London.

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Any teams in DM+C getting together to help with the branding of this brilliant company? **Photo: somewhere near Shoreditch, London.

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2 houses down from where I live is an old pub that dates back 300 years. Sadly, it's been closed throughout lockdown and the landlord (owner of the pub) has placed this dolls head in the window, looking out on passers by. Time stands still at the moment and this inanimate head sums up the moment for me..

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Does anyone know the name of this tree? It is incredible how the rain makes the colours of it's bark pop among all the greys and greens around.

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Every time I walk over the bridge of the pond in Burgess Park I am fascinated by the quite spectacular wildlife, the reflections of the sky in the water and the brutalist buildings on the horizon.

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I saw on my walk, and later read on the internet, that sadly the most beautiful, massive tree in front of the South London Gallery had died at over 100 years of age. There were some logs left to take for free and I would have loved to take one as a coffee table for the garden - but they were too heavy to move by myself :D

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Golden hour is pretty much the definition of sunset in photographic terms. When the log by is low and orangey. The lights and Colors changes throughout season and regions. An interesting way of using this light is to hide the sun with your subject and try to have a rim light drawing the shape of it.

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This doll lamp looked quite creepy to me but the seller affirmed that it was a lamp for kids back in the 1930. What looks now as a scary movie item was once cherished and admired. Could it be that what we adore now will be looked at as scary reminder in the future ?

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Architecture & Politics: Bricked Up Window to Avoid Tax

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Architecture & Politics: Bricked Up Window to Avoid Tax

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In the Georgian era (1714 to c. 1830) there was a window tax in the UK - a tax on the number of windows that you had in your house. I've often wondered what kind of social, political and ethical mechanism must have prevailed to make this law. To make people pay to look out of a window - See the bricked up window in the top left hand side of the house.

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There is a part of my walk each day where i feel like a cat burglar - the term given to burglars that can scale buildings and run across rooftops. This part of the walk feels like Mary Poppins.  The chimneys on buildings of this era interest me, they are so much a part of how we visualise a home in the UK. Even new houses are still sometimes built with a fake chimney, just to give the impression / stamp of official 'approval' with a visual architectural flourish - semiotic , point of view that this is indeed a house.

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Most Catholic Church have depictions of biblical moments, this one caught my eyes for not showing anything but patterns.. The angle makes it look enormous and almost like it was going to fall on us.

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Normally, at this time of the year Geese are long gone. With the climate changing, they postpone their departure up to today. Flying in the arrow shape; made of the first one breaking the wind and second one following up, they represent a beautiful way of working in symbiosis.

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Someone stole the 'D' from this street art, which somehow made it more real. We don't have days anymore at the moment. An 'Ay' could be the sound of celebration, which I think works for this sentiment.

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I don't know where to begin. The name? The fact it's written in italics? The fact that it's one word? I read it SHO-E-WORLD
And it sells terrible shoes.