Au Naturel.

This weekend I returned to my country house (my parents bungalow) in Dorset, however before I left London (sob) I decided to brace myself for the amount of greenery that would attack my senses when I returned to the New Forest – for it has been known to cause panic attacks/severe haemorrhaging if you arrive straight from the city (this is the only reason I can think that people would stop their cars in the middle of a country lane and wander aimlessly, squealing and pointing whilst a fuming queue of locals try and roll their Vauxhall Vectra into a ditch- although my father is under the impression it’s because “they’ve never seen a sodding pony before”) Anyway that was a very long way of saying I visited The Barbican Radical Nature exhibition last week, which was I have to say, a little surreal. At first I felt a little peeved that I had paid £6 to look at some grass however, on reflection it was a very interesting exhibition.

Most art is trying to capture/enhance the natural beauty of a moment/place/person/object, however it is always questionable as to whether this can be obtained in a reproduction when the viewer was not there to experience it first-hand. At Radical Nature you can experience it for yourself as they have brought in the trees, the grass, even a meadow. Context obviously makes a huge difference, ordinarily if you were to stand and stare at a tree, people would question your mental health, however put a tree in a gallery + you can stare as long as you like. bizarre. I only really appreciate nature and greenery now because for most of the year I live in the city, having previously lived by a beach/near a forest and ironically spend more time at the beach now than I ever did when I lived there permanently.

However this seems to be the way we are with all things – we don’t appreciate them until they are gone. It being an exhibition about nature, the idea of eco environments and sustainability came up a lot and the signage/graphics (by Sara de Bondt) were all printed on old Barbican posters, which I thought was a great idea and there were also these amazing benches made from reclaimed wood. I want one.

There was also an interesting video on building artificial reefs and this imaginative structure by Wolf Hilbertz called Autopia which is made from Biorock, a building material as strong as cement but made from sea minerals. When the sea level covers London I want to live in one of these, it’s got a harbour and a beach and is a totally self sufficient community, great!

This weekend there is also a Bartarama organised by Sara where you can exchange prints and books, no cash accepted! I was asked to help out but obviously not being in London anymore it’s a bit of a trek, I am really sad to be missing it though as it looks like it’s going to be fun. If you are in London go and get yourself some nice prints – don’t forget to bring something to swap!