The orange exhibition at Arnolfini

I don't know much about art. I feel I need to say it before you read the rest of the post. I've studied music, so I know about it. However, about sculpturing, drawing, painting, etc. the only thing I can say is "I like it" or "I don't like it", and maybe if I felt something special when I saw the artwork. That's all.

This is the exhibition I have visited at the Arnolfini:

TEMPORARY EXHIBITION @ ARNOLFINI

Until 16th March, Joëlle Tuerlinckx is showing her work titled Wor(L)(D)(K) IN PROGRESS? which leaves no one indifferent (check picture slideshow below). 
The exhibition is free, open from 11am to 6pm. We just visited the downstairs, a room with orange walls. We found rocks on the floor, a wooden staircase, some press cuttings from French and German newspapers, small drawings similar to the ones I used to do with my BIC pen when I got bored at school, a headless sculpture of a guy (or girl) sitting down, (wrongly) photocopied pages of some books, black and white dots in different sizes, sentences written down on the floor with sellotape... 

I visited the exhibition with two more friends. One of them left the room right after seeing the first piece of art, the other one checked the entire orange room with me. We both were completely confused, wondering where the hidden camera was. We didn't get any message. Moreover, we sincerely thought it was a joke.

I would really what to ask you, blog follower, if you ever see this exhibition, please share your opinion with us! And if you understand about art, could you also explain me the hidden message? Looking forward to having an answer!

ARNOLFINI WEBSITE: http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/

Gromit fever

After being spread around Bristol for 10 weeks, the 80 Gromits of the Gromit Unleashed exhibition (plus a secret one) have been one next to each other in the show called The Greatest Dog Show on Earth. They have been displayed in Beacon House from last Wednesday 18th until today, 23rd September. 
The "Gromit Fever" grew fast and many people wanted to visit the exhibition to raise money for Bristol Children's hospital, creating massive queues.

The first day, Wednesday, the queue was up to 3 hours long. Neither organisers nor visitors were expecting such a long queue on a Wednesday. On Thursday, despite the rain, queues started hours earlier than the opening time and organisers started monitoring the queues and estimating queuing time on Facebook. Social networks got busy and visitors started suggesting an extension on the opening hours: "I think before its all over, you really need to rethink opening times and stay open much later for workers and people travelling from far", said someone on Facebook. 

Friday queues were similar to the day before. According to the comments on Facebook, people heard about the long queues and they were prepared for a 3-4h wait: "I'll bring a book, iPod and iPad..." or "Take some books, snacks and a smile, and you'll be fine". General opinion in the queue was positive: "queues went quickly with people chatting", "sharing experiences, it didn't feel anything like that long", "everyone was in good spirit"... 
Good weather absolutely helped as well as the organisers and volunteers, who were bringing food and drinks to the queue. 

On the other hand, there were people saying "queues like that are just ridiculous", "looking to come straight from school on Friday but concerned that we will be queuing and maybe not get in as won't get there until about 4pm", "6pm is nonsense!" and they asked for an extension: "Can you at least extend the opening times as its obviously popular?", "one more week, please!"... Due to the overwhelming popularity of the exhibition and the feedback received, opening hours of the exhibition were extended on Saturday, probably the most critical day. 

Saturday morning started with 4h queue but in the afternoon it became into a 5-6h queue, when it was temporarelly closed at some points of the day due to the massive amount of people joining the queue. On Sunday, the queue reduced to 3-4h and today, Monday, surprisingly there was a maximum of 1h30min queue and a minimum of 40min!!

Nevertheless, the opinion about the exhibition is unanimous: "it is worth to wait the queue".

For this event, the key to avoid the queue was to volunteer for the exhibition: "So glad I am volunteering and won't have to queue! Very excited to see all the Gromits together!".

Have you been there this weekend? Don't be shy and share your own experience with us!

Note: Pictures have been taken by visitors attending the exhibition. Thank you very much!

LINKS
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Related topics: "Where is Gromit?"

A Midsummer's Night Dream

Saint John's Eve (which is called San Juan or Donibane where I come from) coincides with the June solstice. I used to celebrate the longest day of the year along with my parents and neighbours back in the Basque Country. Kids from the neighbourhood used to meet up and spend all afternoon gathering things to burn in the bonfire. At night, each family had to bring something to the table and we used to have a dinner altogether before lighting the bonfire. After dinner, it happened what we all have been looking forward to: jumping over the fire! 

It was a happy day; all of us knew that school year was over and we had 2 months of holidays ahead of us.

I am not aware of any special St. John's Eve celebration here in Bristol. Nonetheless, there will be some activities related to the summer solstice happening in the following days:

The Looking Glass (BS1 2AW) is hosting an exhibition starting from tomorrow 21st June titled 'Sweet Summer Solstice'. There will be a launch party tomorrow from 9pm to 2am and they say they will be serving "Crocktails and Sweet Toof Punch". If you go there tomorrow, short films will be projected and there will also be some art performances. 

On Saturday, Bristol's Green Week will be promoting solar and renewable energies in Collage Green, where the Bristol Solar City solar-powered pavilion will be located. 

MORE INFORMATION

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The Looking Glass Website

Bristol's Green Week Website

Chocolate!

As Joanne Harris' novel Chocolat whets you appetite, the exhibition currently in the MShed does the same. Tastiest exhibition called Chocolate! has been extended until 23rd June due to popular demand. The exhibition unwrappes secrets and stories of chocolate makers who lived in the city over the past 300 years, exploring the history, mystery, magic and science of the product.

But... why do we like chocolate that much? There are actual studies to back up some of the physical effects you can experience while eating chocolate. The stimulation your body gets provides a pleasant feeling to your taste buds, making you always come back for more. In the exhibition, you will also find out why chocolate tastes so good.

According to some sources, as chocolate comes from plants, it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables, acting like antioxidants, protecting our body from free radicals, which can lead to heart diseases. However, chocolate does contain fats and sugars, which are not healthy, but as long as you eat in moderation, the science suggests you can add as much as a year to your life.

See the leaflet of the exhibition HERE.

MORE INFORMATION
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Articles:

• Why do we like to eat chocolate? - Article - Here
• Five reasons why we love chocolate - Article -  Here

Other links:

• MShed Chololate! Exhibition Here
• Joanne Harris' Chocolat Here