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Searching undeterred: The Gift @ParkTheatre

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I recently had a few parcels go missing from where I live. The first parcel disappeared without a trace. The second parcel's contents were removed, and the box was left alone in the lobby. It's one of the things that you have to put up with living in central London. Apart from complaining to the delivery company and filing a police report, it crossed my mind to think about what would happen if I sent myself something rather unpleasant for a future parcel thief to open up. Well, Dave Florez's new work, The Gift, is in this line of thinking, except that the lead receives an anonymous gift of a turd in the mail rather than sending it to himself. It is lovingly gift-wrapped in a cake box from a posh north London bakery. It's a fascinating and hilarious three-hander currently playing at Park Theatre .  Colin (Nicholas Burns) is a little obsessive at the best of times. He doesn't let things drop quickly and is obsessed with the details behind anything and everythi...

Art: Shadow Catchers Camera-Less Photography


Shadow Catchers - V&A from Sound Films on Vimeo.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has been running an excellent little exhibition since October last year on Shadow Catchers: Camera-less photography and I managed to take a look at it over the weekend.

After brushing up on what a photogram is via the Art of Photography (basically its an image created by placing an object on light sensitive paper), we headed over to the V&A to look at some shadows...

This exhibition is an opportunity take in some extraordinary pieces that leave a lot up to the imagination, or at least provoke it a little. The low light of the exhibition space helps, and adds a moody atmosphere.

There is beauty with the simplicity of the works, particularly those that hinted at absent objects. They appeared less impressive when combined with other photographic techniques, although it is easy to appreciate the effort required in their production. It is at the V&A until February 20... Initial boo thoughts below...

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