Joy in people

I've had a good first week of the Easter break, starting with a lovely time in London.  Walking in the sunshine from Angel to the Southbank, I stumbled across many a good bookshop and, more excitingly, an entire pub devoted to cider!  The exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery on the Southbank were both brilliant.  Jeremy Deller, whose Joy In People show was downstairs in the Hayward, wasn't an artist I was that familiar with, but I loved his skewed take on modern life and pop culture.  Some pieces were overtly political - such as a large-scale reenactment inspired by the miner's strike - while others were more playful, like the posters presenting famous lines from indie music as quotes from the gospels.

I've long been an admirer of David Shrigley's art, which is heavily tongue-in-cheek and often extremely funny.  This piece, Lost Pigeon, is one of my favourites.  But one of the most amusing sights at his Brain Activity show wasn't an artwork, though, it was a group of people standing, intrigued, at a doorway, only for the lift doors to open and the group to look embarrassed and disperse.  I love the idea that modern art is so inscrutable, one can mistake a lift for a work of art. 

Last night I went to a wonderful event at a bar in Leicester, The Crumblin' Cookie.  Craftwerk is billed as a "night of music, fun and craft," and I can attest that it was all of those things.  Music by everyone from Grooverider to Screaming Trees on the sound system, a table full of crafty bits and an hour-long deadline; I'm a competitive person so was in my element.  Our egg-based Donnie Darko diorama was beaten by a plasticine Alien creation in the film category, but our bunny-themed Easter bonnet won us a table full of chocolatey goodness.  Annoyingly, my photos didn't come out right (might have something to do with the cider I was drinking...).  Ah well, you'll just have to imagine the majesty that was this scene rendered in fake eggs and sticky-backed foam:

Now I'm up in Yorkshire for a few days of walking, reading and relaxing with my family.  Have a lovely Easter weekend all!