A Major Retrospective: Caledonian Kim

A few months ago I started taking pictures of the Caledonian Road Underground Station service information board.  These are lovingly created around twice a week and usually turn even the most wizened winter sneer into a bow of burning glee.

This work above is the latest in the collection - "Untitled" - mixed media (washed board markers and taffeta on white board).  Below you can find a selection of other such works.

  

"Untitled"                                                                                              "Untitled"

                             

"Untitled"                                                                                     "Untitled"

"Untitled"                                                                         "Untitled"


As I took the most recent photo last Friday, I felt a light tap on my back, I looked down to where a couple of items were being pressed hurriedly into my hand.  Placed into my hand were the card and coin you can see below addressed to 'My Lovely'. I spun round in an instant to catch a glimpse of this artisan sprite and only managed to witness blurred figure scurrying back into the Station Master's office.  Perplexed, I opened the card and carried on my journey.

You can see that I have interacted directly with these merry-makers. A little light research shows the artist as Kim, although from the card below you can see that she has an accomplice.   I will continue to document these works - until then, my lovelies.

Certainly the the artists at King's Cross Station come from more of a Pop-Minimalist school:

Well deserved.

At a trip to a crematorium recently I came across this award on the wall. It left me asking a few questions.

1) What have you been during the last 6/7 years since?
3) When you say 'special award' do you actually mean 'wooden spoon'?
3) How did you manage just to get the children's play area so right?
4) Who exactly is on the Judges Panel?
5) The awards ceremony sounds like it could be an absolute hoot.  Where does one get tickets?
6)I thought the children's area was rather under-whelming. Was a children's poll conducted as part of the process?

I then had a look into what these awards were really all about and this press release explains the reasons for them -  this is the brain child of Michael Dewar no less - the esteemed campaign director of the MAB (Memorial Awareness Board)


"Obviously death is not a positive media hook, so Michael, Dewar Associates came up with the idea of the Cemetery of the Year Awards"

 No, not a positive media hook at all - unless you tie in an awards ceremony - I think you'll all agree that's a great idea; giving this whole scene a bit of the celebrity treatment.  clever.

The release goes on to say that unfortunately the press ended up focussing on some of the negative results including their own 'RIP Ratings'.  This rather canny idea took on more of a morosely moronic look. shame.


I've also just due to the awards site they state that the awards never even took place  in 2010 which might go some way in explaining Guildford Crematorium's stagnant progress over the last six years; perhaps this sort of on/off approach to standards-appraisal breeds apathy? Perhaps it breeds the sitting around and quaffing of champagne at exclusive and sporadic awards ceremonies, encouraging  participants to rest of their wreaths and boast about their lack lustre achievements.  I'd still love to go though.

super-slow-mo dogs + cars

Dogs in Cars from keith on Vimeo.

Iceland

What with it being unusually cold, the Jarðböð thermal pools in Mývatn are a good place to warm up.   The whole zone is alive with geo-thermal activity, sulphurous vents pumping out hot gases everywhere.  This photo was taken at around 14.30 and the Sun has pretty much had enough of today already.

You must remember to continually sumerge your head to melt the ice crystals that have grown on your head. Real-time frosted tips inside the ride.

After spending a night in Egilsstaðir we took the Embulance over the high pass and down to Seyðisfjörður where we are waiting for the boat to arrive and take us to the Faroe Islands.

 Due to bad weather it has been delayed, we expect to leave at some point on Friday.

Luckily Seyðisfjörður is a beautiful small fishing port and a nice place to hold tight until our ride arrives. There is a chance we will be grounded in the Faroe Islands if the the weather plays up, I can think of worse places to be stranded...

Icelandic Teaser

Currently in Mývatn on the North-east coast of Iceland with my sister  - spent the day driving from Reykjavík to these parts over the last 24 hours. Tempreature has hit -15 but we managed to warm up in a thermal spring.

More upon my return...

Christmas is Bach.

As it's the first day of December I thought that it would't go amiss to lay down Bach's Christmas Oratorio.

It's big time and I'm sure the lyrics say  'the holiday's are coming! the holiday's are coming!'  


No, really.