Tuesday 22 February 2011

my bad sister


saw my bad sister on sat night and they totally tore the place up !!!






Thursday 17 February 2011

Monday 14 February 2011

Mrs. Dalloway

“I love walking in London,” said Mrs. Dalloway. “Really it's better than walking in the country.”

Last week I re-traced the walk undertaken by Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway. Below are some of the signs i saw on my journey:

Bikes chained to this balustrade will be removed.

Traditional, historic, timeless, exclusive

Do not congregate in this area.

This is a protected site under section 128 of the serious organised crime and police act

Health hope love the glorious virtues of Queen Alexandra

Not maintained for public access.

Saturday 12 February 2011

a letter to skin

Dear Skin

Recently I have been thinking a lot about saying thank you. Sometimes it feels like all we do is complain and moan about everything. I have decided that it is time for me to start saying thank you so I wanted to write to you and say thank you....

For the sad songs i listened to during my break ups

For the inspirational songs I listened to after my break ups

For the jumping up and down in a line with my friends when they played Twisted as the last song every Tuesday night in Popstastic

For being a strong queer woman

For giving me my first real mosh pit at Glastonbury

For still tearing it up on stage at Brighton last year even though you are 8 years older than me I and I had to stop for 2 songs cause I had a stitch.

For being political

For being a feminist

For demonstrating alternative ideas of femininity

For inspiring me to put together a folk/punk band – classic tunes included ‘rough sex’ and ‘xie xie ’

For being angry

For empowering me

For never compromising

For being punk as fuck



Monday 7 February 2011

Capture/Release/Release/Capture

For the last 2 months the physical center has been running stripped down, no-holds barred performance evenings in a studio space in Hackney. The artists taking part in these events have been exploring ideas of physicality and the body within performance. MPA’s performance entitled Capture/Release/Release/Capture was a beautifully touching piece which placed the female body in the role of active agent by highlighting physically its subjugation. What I found most lifting was the notion of solidarity placed within her work. As she said herself ‘ patriarchy is a triangle’. it is important to remember that only the very few are privileged and what we need is for everyone who is oppressed by patriarchy (and this list includes many men) not to be divided but united together in our common struggle to resist prejudice and inequality.

Thursday 3 February 2011

Gil Scott-Heron

This video clip was sent to me by my good friend and collaborator Jonathan May after he read the Blair Gibbs article. The perfect antidote.

small sign of spring

Wow, it is a lovely spring day here in London and it has really made me think about the start of summer. Having just graduated in January it feels like this spring day is a reminder of the new journey I am about to embark on. One chapter has ended and one is about to begin and whilst the role of job hunter has been tough it is still exciting to think that I am embarking on a totally new part of my life. I hope all my London friends are out enjoying this sharp fresh day and that my poor Canadian cousins have managed to shovel the snow from their pathways and made it outside – don’t worry your summer will be coming soon.

Wednesday 2 February 2011

blair gibbs article

Blair Gibbs article The Underclass and Crime:How to Deal With an Economic, Political, and Cultural Disaster? really got me irate.

http://www.spectator.co.uk/article_assets/articledir_1/652/The_Underclass_and_Crime%20final.pdf

Gibbs maintains that the ‘underclass’ (who are in his words ‘a type of poverty and a type of behaviour, whose members are defined by the values they hold’) have no sense of what is right due to the collapse in core values such as marriage, religion and self-responsibility

He fails to discuss completely or even acknowledge the main societal factors, which include lack of social mobility and a feeling of being disenfranchised with a society that fails to understand you or indeed represent you any way (note the fact that 75% of the cabinet are privately educated). The problem is not an issue of morals it is one of poverty and social ostracisation.

The reason that many children from single parent families may have “lower educational achievement; lower job attainment; increased behaviour and emotional problems” is not because it is morally or emotionally problematic but it is most likely because single parent families live in more urban and deprived areas. It is a societal problem that needs to be addressed here. How can the so called ‘underclass’ be made to feel self-worth and part of society if they have never seen their parents work or their grandparents work. How can you apply for a job if you lack confidence, communication skills and feel like an outsider. Stigmatisation and stereotyping is also a major problem. I am from Glasgow and if someone from the ‘infamous’ and much publicised Easterhouse estate and someone from the affluent West End went for the same job it is my opinion that the person from the West End would be viewed more favourably. Faith schools are not a solution as Gibbs suggests as they only serve to condemn behaviour as morally right and wrong - when we all know there is no such thing as right or wrong (buts that another story or another blog post!)

If morals are to be discussed then I find the idea to ‘shame and blame the underclass for its behaviour and attitudes, and construct a system that will punish them financially when they transgress’ itself morally dubious. But then again this only reflects my moral guidelines.

This will teach me to read the Spectator !!!!

Tuesday 1 February 2011

bloomberg new contemporaries exhibition

We went to the bloomberg new contemporaries exhibition last week at the ICA and without a doubt the two stand out artists for me were: Greta Alfaro and Pablo Wendel.

Alfaro’s short video piece In Ictu Oculi was mesmerising and can be viewed here:

http://www.genesisfoundation.org.uk/content/greta-alfaros-ictu-oculi

Wendel's Terracotta warrior was a video of an intervention in which he disguised himself as one of the famous Terracotta Warriors in China. The piece moves from funny to confrontational in an instant and i really loved it. Unfortunately the video does not seem to be available online but here are some images

fox news


Fox news, in-depth reporting at its best.



woo hoo, just found out that i have been accepted as a volunteer for the lesbian and gay switchboard.



mob mentality

very interesting programme on world service this week regarding crowd mentality. Dr Chris Cocking maintains that the idea of 'mob mentality' is simply not true. He believes that it only exists as an idea due to a general mistrust of crowds within certain sectors of society. well worth a listen:

Gilbert and George


went to the Gilbert and George exhibition at the white cube which i really enjoyed. Admittedly it was not exactly ground breaking but the juxtaposition of the postcards was very interesting. The London tourist postcards were intriguing as a view on how London represents itself whilst the phone booth cards exposed a different side to London. G and G seemed to be advocating that both sides were equally valid and it was nice also to see a mixture of straight and gay sexualities on display. Although only 1 woman who love woman image in the whole exhibition was disappointing