Spinning The Myth

Dear Written World,

I`ve just returned from a trip to London and I`m full of inspiration from the exhibitions that I`ve visited... V&A`s Hollywood Costume This is 3 rooms of mind-blowing presentation of film characters through the ages from the classic stars of Hollywood like Mae West, Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe through to modern pop culture hits like Daniel Craig as 007 and Keira Knightley as Anna Karenina as well as CGI characters; the 10 ft Avatar character is stunning! Admission is £15 and may leave you wanting to throw much more in the buckets as you leave the museum. Bravo, V&A! How do they have those quasi-dialogues projected on the screens between the film characters?! How are outfits from yesteryear kept so beautifully? Although the red shoes from The Wizard of Oz had taken a battering and had been recommissioned to the original pattern.

Film continues to fascinate me and our need for it, or at least the role it has in our lives. The queue for the exhibition spiralled around the entrance hall and the silence in the roms, the fascination with what this transformation truly brings to our lives is beautiful. What is this need for dressing up, for characterisation, for dramatisation? Even indigenous people have their own version often linked to their spiritual culture and shamanism. What do we learn by watcing others imitate others? What can we learn about ourselves and the person we want to become? Or are we always the person we are, dipping into a character for the fun of it? It`s magnificent how a chracter can capture society`s imagination like a virus, inspiring conversations and change all over the world. Another few stand-out shows are at Somerset House. Paul Benney`s Spotlight Tours drips with class and the kind of significance that JMW Turner lends in his paintings. And what a setting...in the alleys and catacombs of Somerset House. In contrast to Benney`s fascination with the dark and all the myths contained within it, Tim Walker`s exhbition, `Storyteller` was a sweet delight, full of whimsical beauty and good humour. Rhea Thierstein `s astonishing designs were there... a 9 ft bumble bee playing a ouble bass with his companeros, a cricket and a rhino beetle. In the other rooms alongside more dazzling imagery, a giant skeleton and doll. I had a perma-smile during the show and laughed at a couple of pieces like the old lady in her flying saucer next to her cup and saucer! And the jet plane made of baguettes is just too cute.