Ragnar Kjartansson at Barbican review: top Icelandic artist explores the point where performance meets reality July 13, 2016 Every five years Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson records a video of his mother repeatedly spitting in his face. So far there are four videos, which play side-by-side in this Barbican retrospective of his work. They encapsulate a question that’s fascinated him throughout his career – where do performance and reality meet? His mother is a [...]
Needles and Opium at barbican review: a surreal jazz noir and absurdist Miles Davis tribute July 13, 2016 Needles and Opium is a surreal jazz noir staged in a giant revolving cube. It’s a revival of a 1991 play by mercurial French Canadian theatre director Robert Lepage, whose past works include Lipsynch, a nine-hour meditation on the human voice. This play begins with actor Marc Labrèche – who also starred in the production [...]
John Wesley exhibition: the Los Angeles-based artist to host exhibition at London’s Waddington Custot July 12, 2016 At first glance, you might throw Wesley in with the pop artists. Recurring female nudes recall a less fetishised Allen Jones, the industrial blocks of colour echo both Haring and Lichtenstein, his rhythmic repetition brings to mind Warhol. But Wesley sits uneasily in this company; even his more overtly pop motifs – Pop Eye and [...]
The Neon Demon review: Nicolas Winding Refn’s follow-up to Gosling smash Drive is a work of haunting genius July 8, 2016 The Neon Demon is to modelling what Requiem for a Dream is to heroin. It seduces you with visions that are equal parts urban grit and starry ambition, then delivers a punch-in-the-gut verdict, summarily, “Hey, kids, drugs are all fun and games until you get your arm sawn off.” In a similarly brutal fashion, Elle [...]
Weiner review: US politician Anthony Weiner stars in the first truly Shakespearean documentary about dick pics July 8, 2016 If you’ve heard of Anthony Weiner, chances are it’s because you know him as the US politician with a penchant for sending pictures of his junk to ladies over the internet. This exceptional documentary follows him from the start of his ill-fated campaign to become Mayor of New York City, shortly after the first scandal [...]
Maggie’s Plan shoots for playful rom-com but gets snarled up in “total sociopath” territory July 8, 2016 In off-beat romantic comedy Maggie’s Plan, a half-adorable, half-infuriating woman (Greta Gerwig) who wants a baby put in her post-haste forgoes both the sweaty method and the tricky paperwork. Instead she takes receipt of a sample of gunk from a helpful old school friend turned artisan pickle salesman, before falling in love with a married [...]
Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick: A new Somerset House exhibition is dedicated to works inspired by the lauded film-maker July 7, 2016 The final scene in A Clockwork Orange, known as the “Ascot fantasy” sees a young woman writhe in ecstasy on top of Malcolm McDowell. Prior to the filming of the scene, director Stanley Kubrick was introduced to the girl in her trailer. “Could you, erm, drop your robe,” he asked. She did. Kubrick walked out. [...]
Georgia O’Keeffe at the Tate Modern: flowers and skulls abound, but don’t mention vaginas July 7, 2016 A teacher in America was recently fired for saying the word “vagina” in front of her class during a discussion about Georgia O’Keeffe’s series of flower paintings. O’Keeffe would be mad about this for two reasons: firstly, the sheer ludicrousness of her puritanical home country, where women can’t so much as mention their genitals without [...]
Raise a pint to City Beerfest 2016, the Square Mile’s very own summer festival with live music, booze and vintage cars July 6, 2016 Set in the heart of the City in the elegant and historic Guildhall Yard, City Beerfest returns to the Square Mile for its fourth outing today. The Worshipful Company of Brewers has attracted an impressive range of breweries, while the City Music Foundation (CMF) has arranged a varied line up of music, from jazz to [...]
Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre review: An unsettling production with some top notch witches July 1, 2016 If you’re uncertain about whether a production of Macbeth is any good, just ask yourself – are the weird sisters sufficiently weird? While magical realism is present in lots of Shakepeare’s plays, it’s intrinsic to Macbeth, driving much of the action. If it’s poorly executed, tragedy quickly slides into farce. In the Globe’s production, the [...]