PHOTOGRAPHY
A few weeks ago I visited Rome after a gap of many years. I had wanted to revisit for a while, especially after seeing contemporary films set in Rome by several of my favourite Italian directors: Nanni Moretti, Gianni di Grigorio and Paolo Sorrentino. I was immediately struck by the architecture and monumentality of Rome, but … Read more
When I was in New Orleans recently I came across a wordless sticker in the street that referenced the iconic 17th Century painting by Vermeer The girl with the Pearl Earring. In the last few years the original image has entered popular culture after Tracy Chevalier’s 1999 novel about the painting was adapted into a … Read more
(L.H.O.O.Q by Duchamp -source Wikimedia Commons) Back in 1919, artist Marcel Duchamp re-presented Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa by pencilling-in a moustache and goatee. He placed the initials LHOOQ beneath, which when pronounced sound like “elle a chaud au cul”, literally translated as “she is hot in the ass” apparently suggesting sexual restlessness and “fire … Read more
I love this stencil graffiti I saw years ago in Venice. I assume the figure on the left is male and adult, running (and leading?) the figure on the right, who I assume to be female … mainly because of a triangle at the side of her head which suggests long hair and a trapezoid … Read more
Tel Aviv is full of vibrant graffiti including striking stencil graffiti and hebrew text. However amongst all of this I started noticing some naive childlike scratchings – a bit like a non-smiley emoticon with or without an armless body – in many locations over the the city. Here are some of them. I also came … Read more