train town

something i caught at Short & Sweet, a weekly event at Cafe 1001 on Brick Lane, Train Town stood out from the list of shorts for its dead serious, deadpan humour. directed by Keith Bearden, the film uses a simple allegory of a model train store, taking it in an unexpectedly political direction. annoyingly enough for the lurking internet movie buffs, Bearden has not put the film out on youtube, meaning that one has to see it at a festival (take that, cheapskates) - but the movie has been making many rounds at various festivals, so all is not lost yet.

hansel pop-up store

The label Hansel, by designer Jo Soh, has taken over the space of the old Baylene shop at Stamford House and set up a temporary store selling her range of girly candy-esque clothing. The shop interior is a whimsical jurassic landscape of pixelated mountains, cut-out dinosaurs and floating cuboid clouds. Inspired by children's pop-up books, sheets of brown cardboard fold out from the wall to form clothing racks and cartons are stacked to create display shelves, partitions and a counter. The people behind the interior concept is a group of MFA students from the La Salle School of the Arts working under the name Musement. The shop is open till 26 July.




The Hansel Pop Up Shop
#01-04 Stamford House

www.ilovehansel.com/

ART HATE

STATEMENT OF INTENT

AGAINST THE COMMON ENEMY

NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK has been instigated for the disruptive betterment of culture.

For one week in July the children of Albion will wake up and HATE ART on mass.

NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK is a call for direct action against the mass acceptance of art as a phantom economy for the smug manipulative elite and their ensuing grip of control over culture as a tool for mediated emotion, market lead non-critical homogeny, and boring popularism.

NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK presents a unified front of non-unified creative individuals against all that is despicable and loved by the people. We oppose the deliberate socio-economic strategy to make us all complicit in our own idiocy. We oppose the affront of state endorsed auto-cryptic balderdash and oppose the ruffians who have been pulled from the ghetto and polished up for elevated status and easy consumption by the masses.

ALL ART IS TAINTED

NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK will redress the balance and all art will be opposed and subjected to a sustained HATE.

NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK takes the symbol of the swastika hung from a gallows as an emblem of resistance against cultural fascism as disseminated by the bureaucrats of art.

During NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK citizens are encouraged to visit art institutions across the land and HATE. Individuals who are unable to attend an organised ART HATE are encouraged to open a random book on any given artist and HATE what they see.

If a child offers you a painting during NATIONAL ART HATE WEEK you are to turn away in disgust.

les amis

What better time to spend some money than during a recession. Les Amis, perhaps the most well known French restaurant in Singapore, was the setting for a fancy (if slightly pretentious) lunch one weekday afternoon. The 15 year old restaurant is a major name in the local and Asian fine dining scene. Made famous by Chef Justin Quek and currently helmed by Chef Armin Leitgeb, it offers a prixe fixe lunch menu of 2, 3 or 4 courses.

After having our order taken, I jealously watched as my lunch companion got served a free glass of champagne. The restaurant was offering free bubbly for ladies on Mondays and Tuesdays. But in this sexist world, life goes on and the meal began with bread service and the amuse bouche which was smoked salmon served on a slice of crisp bread. As simple as the item might sound, the flavours were well composed, a smokey flavour and the soft gelatinous texture of the salmon were complemented by the oniony note of the chives, with the crisp bread providing a nice textural contrast.


The same play of textures and flavours was to be found again in my starter which was a huge hunk of Hokkaido scallop with a slice of Iberico ham wrapped in a crispy ciabatta skin and served with a slice of lettuce on a bed of heirloom tomato slices. The dish was aptly named BLT scallop, though the lone slice of lettuce would be rather frivolous if not for the name. My companion had the roasted Challans duck ravioli, celery and diced foie gras in an "essence of duck" consomme. As I had chosen the 4 course menu, I had a middle course which was an oven cooked pike perch with spinach and ribbon pasta on a bed of mustard, which on the whole was a tad boring and disappointing after what the amuse bouche promised.

For mains, my companion had the slow baked Britanny kabeljau with spinach and butter sauce (i can't remember what the thing is on top, sorry) while I had the steak done medium rare served with (a leaf of) lettuce and a (note the singular again) truffle potato fry. The steak was well cooked, with tender red centre which is not bloody. Again, I didn't really care for the lettuce, which in all fairness was well cooked, green, crunchy and oozing full lettuce flavour, blanched-to-perfection if you will. The potato fry, on the other hand, was a better complement to the steak, the crispy exterior wrapping around a smooth fluffy centre with bits of truffle.



For dessert, we had the terrine of tropical sorbets with melting chocolate beignet (basically a deep fried chocolate cake) and the peach melba. The sorbet terrine came as a slice with various layers of multicolour sorbets separated by a thin layer of chocolate. It reminded me very much of a slice of nonya kueh or those neopolitan ice cream from the supermarket that comes in a tub. I stole a section of the sorbet and tasted it layer by layer. The effect was melodious, with sweet mellow flavours contrasting with the high notes of the citrusy flavours, mediated by the slight bitterness of the intermediate chocolate layers. The peach melba (we were told was named after the opera singer Nellie Melba), a composition of vanilla parfait, peach jelly with raspberry foam and a slice of peach on a biscuit base, was in contrast much lighter. The flavour profile, though aromatic and cleansing on the palate, lacked a heavier or stronger component which might help set of the lightness of the rest. We ended the meal with lychee infused oolong and a cup of cappuccino, along with a delightful mignardise plate which consisted of cherry financier, orange meringue, hazelnut biscuit and canele.

I left the restaurant reassessing my impression of Les Amis, it is perhaps not as "haute" and fancy as I had expected but is really about serving simply but well cooked dishes that respect the ingredients, allowing their inherent flavour to shine and not clouding them with complicated flavour combinations and over the top presentation.


Les Amis
1 Scotts Road
#02-16 Shaw Centre

'driftwood' - AA summer pavilion 2009

an exercise in fluidity, 'Driftwood' by Danecia Sibingo (concept author) stands out from the angular townhouses in its corner of Bedford Square in London, albeit mildly and without any bombast. inspired by images of the Jordanian city of Petra, the piece consists of 28 layers of plywood concealing a Kerto structural system. harnessing this system, 'Driftwood' intrigues with its continuity, reminiscent of a mobius strip and a topographical model all crossed into one. the form lifts off the ground at points, allowing the visitor to enter the central space, where he finds himself enveloped by the layered surfaces.

while there is a certain suspicion that the piece is simply an empty study of form, there is at the same time a feeling that there is a clear and organic beauty in the structure. wrapping itself around a lamp post, the use of bare plywood exposing the grain, and the slightly disjointed character of the panel construction grounds the entire structure in its environment and avoids any sense of awkward artificiality despite its size. one might go so far as to suggest that the piece could have been planted anywhere and still retained this feeling of harmoniousness.

serpentine gallery pavilion 2009

SANAA: “The pavilion is floating aluminum, drifting freely between the trees like smoke. The reflective canopy undulates across the site, expanding the park and sky. Its appearance changes according to the weather, allowing it to melt into the surroundings. It works as a field of activity with no walls, allowing views to extend uninterrupted across the park and encouraging access from all sides. It is a sheltered extension of the park where people can read, relax and enjoy lovely summer days.”

For this year's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, SANAA, the collaborative between Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishisawa, performs a disappearing act, creating a silver cloud of aluminum slithering among the trees of the park above a forest of silver slender columns. The barely there, paper thin structures are signatures of SANAA and the floating cloud motif can be seen in some of their older projects, like the Civic Centre of Onishi or Flower House.



photos by Iwan Baan

The simplicity of this year's pavilion is a stark contrast to last year's bombastic car crash by Frank Gehry. Instead of making a big visual statement, it invites the user to consider the more inconspicuous qualities of the space and structure and its dialogue with the environment. Ryue Nishisawa describes the piece (here) as " a non-architecture idea, such as water or a rainbow". It can be said that both the SANAA and Gehry pavilions are both statements of exaggeration but on opposite poles. Whereas Gehry made a grand display of tectonics in his a tense and visually unstable structure, SANAA reduces tectonics to the level of abstraction, the pavilion visually becomes an abstract organic 2D plane floating above the forest of sticks; there is no architectural space, the inside and outside is one. My favorite part of the pavilion is perhaps the part where the canopy dips down creating a very low space which can only be occupied by sitting on the floor, breaking down the formality of the public space.

Photo by Javier Vergara Petrescu via Archdaily

The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is a yearly event where renown architects are comissioned to design a pavilion on the grounds of the Serpentine without any programmatic and budget constraints. The pavilion is funded entirely by sponsorship and the sale of the structure its tenure. This year, the pavilion will be open from 12 July till 18 October.

look back away from the glare

video installtion showcasing reworked clothing by 6 young designers

Look Back Away from the Glare
part of Resuscitation presented at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road

locanda locatelli

we finally made the journey to Giorgio Locatelli's restaurant near Marble Arch after months of planning a hypothetical visit "at some point". having had mixed experiences with Refettorio, where Locatelli consults, we were happy to find that Locanda Locatelli was yet another step up. locanda, which translates into "inn", lives up to its name with its unpretentious and rich flavours while still capturing remarkable complexity with each bite.

we started with an octopus carpaccio (carpaccio di polipo), which came with a simple accompaniment of tomatoes and basil. the octopus was the star of the dish, thinly sliced and losing the toughness that one tends to get when eating octopus, especially in sashimi.

the two pasta dishes arrived together: the malfatti with ricotta, walnuts and aubergine, topped with tomato puree and a slow-roasted basil leaf, and the tortelli with veal, parmesan and saffron filling. of the two, the malfatti was the more surprising, with the unexpected texture of the roughly diced walnuts and thinly sliced aubergine interrupting the smooth ricotta. the beauty was the basil leaf, which was roasted on a low heat for hours to arrive at the final papery crispness. the complexity of this pasta probably stands it amongst one of the best i've had. unfortunately, in comparison to this the saffron in the tortelli ended up rather lost in the rich veal flavour.

not pictured (but equally enjoyable) was the dessert, a strawberry and mango lasagne with vanilla ice-cream. the lasagne had a clear crystallised sugar coat on top, providing a crunch. the mango did tend to detract from the refreshing tang of the strawberry. while demolishing the dessert, we considered various combinations of fruit - strawberry and rhubarb in the lasagne, with a mint ice-cream?

the entire experience was made especially enjoyable with the attentive service, and after chatting with the waiter all evening, we traded recommendations at the end of it: Atari-ya from us since his wife loved sashimi, in exchange for Il Ponte, a restaurant in Barga, Italy, run by a friend of his.

Locanda Locatelli
8 Seymour Street
London W1H 7JZ

15minutes

A reference to the well known Warhol quote "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.", 15Minutes is a bar/bistro located in what used to be a ground floor gallery space at the corner of one of the 6 prismatic blocks in the La Salle School of the Arts .

Separated into 2 sections, the upper deck had an array of canteen tables and benches filling up the space, an L-shaped service counter borders 2 sides with a sliding blackboard menu at the back. At the lower deck, the space is furnished with loungey furniture with a drinks bar on one of the long sides with a stage tucked at the end. The overall space has a raw econo-chic aesthetics coupled with the high ceiling and exposed ducts and pipes. While their facebook group says it's "Good for kids", the place, unsurprisingly, attracts a crowd of mostly young creative types.

Although the Warhol reference is rather trite and the premise of the place sounds like one architecture school project cliche in another, they actually serve quite decent food here. The simple menu is made up of mainly pastas, pizzas, salads and soups. I had the prawn aglio olio with prawns that I quite enjoyed. The spaghetti had a nice firm bite and lightly spiced with a curry mix, giving the dish a delightful twang. And judging by what the other patrons ordered, they seem to make a mean glass of cocktail too. Unfortunately, the food did not arrive in 15minutes, as the name might suggest, and we had to rush through the meal so that we could make it in time for the plays that we were watching in the same building.

The words "Friends, food & fame" are boldly emblazoned on the glass in front. While you probably will not find fame at 15minutes, the place is unpretentiously chic and a wonderfully pleasant for chilling out IF you bring your own friends. Have to wait a little for the food though.


15minutes
Blk D, #01-01,
1 McNally Street,
LASALLE College of the Arts

excluded from art

The building must please everybody. In contrast to the work of art, which does not have to please anybody. The work of art is a private affair of the artist. The building is not. The work of art is brought into the world without there being a need for it. The building supplies a need. The work of art is responsible to no one, the house to each person. The work of art wants to tear people from their comfort zone. The building must serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary, the building is conservative. The work of art opens new avenues to mankind and thinks of the future. The building thinks of the present. Mankind loves everything that serves his comfort. He hates everything that wants to tear him from his habitual and safe position and that bothers him. And thus he loves the building and hates art. Thus does it not then follow that the house has nothing to do with art and that architecture would not be counted among the arts? Thus it is. Only a small part of architecture belongs to art: the gravestone and the monument. Everything else that serves a purpose can be excluded from the kingdom of art.

Architektur, Adolf Loos