First an image from the streets of Dublin, early June 2011. It's probably a tag for somebody operating under the name "Zero One" but it could also be a general comment on the state of things, when culture goes digital and the economy evaporates into a cloud of zeroes and ones.
Below, images from a small photography exhibition at Tate Modern, looking at new directions in documentary photography. This is work by Ukrainian photographer Boris Mikhailov, with whom I was not familiar before. His exhibition was a highlight of my recent London visit. His images combine humour and pathos, a light touch and a keen sense of observation, while his sense for colour and his casual approach to capturing images reminds of William Eggleston.
Also in London, the Saatchi Gallery has a big exhibition of sculpture, most of which did not say much to me, but there were one or two interesting works. The crashed cars (below) wrapped around posts, By Dirk Skreber, were among the most interesting things, reminiscent of the historic exhibition of crashed cars by JG Ballard at the ICA in the late 1960's.
Also worthy of note is the installation by David Batchelor, a combination of light boxes and sculptures made from found plastic materials, continuing the artist's twin interests in colour as a primary concern, and the use of cheap, found, debased materials.
And below, another tag, seen in London. "Dump Cameron" is presumably a sentiment shared by many Brits at the moment, but is not something that is likely to happen in the near political future, unfortunately. It seems I am not the only one to have noticed this tag. Here it is again on Flickr. The same contributor to Flickr also posted this, the Doctors Commons, which also corresponds to another of my recent images from London, a plaque indicating the previous site of Baynard's Castle. Our camera eyes must be synchronised.... Finally, another image from Dublin. A word on the wall of a derelict pub, and this piece of graffiti seems to sum up the state of the world in summer 2011.
