Six weeks ago I was working on the Red House, home of
William Morris and a response to the Industrial Revolution which was turning
life inside out across Europe.
Since then I have upgraded the models of two Modernist buildings from the
1930s, attempts to embrace the new technologies and the social transformations
that came with them. Links to ideologies well to the left and right.
Artistically they represent attempts to sweep everything away and start afresh,
repeating cycles of innovation and disruption. Looking back we can see the
beginnings of the art scene of today, where conceptual statements and shock
value have largely replaced the search for beauty. Shock value trumps gradual
evolution of traditions that stretch back hundreds of years.
To be clear, I am not pointing the finger or suggesting I know "the
solution". Seems to me it's just a feature of the pace of change in society
and technology, the dominance of consumerism and fashion.
I don't have the answers but I am interested in exploring the cultural history
leading up to the mid twentieth century when I was born.
This is pretty raw. Trying to sing and play along to an old
cakewalk backing track. It's too fast for my current skill levels, but it was
fun to have a go.
Leaving Trunk was an old Taj Mahal number that really caught my imagination. I
have tried very hard to "do it my way" many times with different
bands, in different countries, at different stages of my life. Rarely felt that
I was doing it justice.
Will I find time to do more of this kind of thing and ramp up my musical
fluency again? Difficult to say. I'm trying to balance competing claims on my
diminishing energy levels.
But I do plan to carry on sharing whatever I can that at least seems
interesting.
Friday night out. My old Crocs had fallen apart so I wanted
to get some new ones. Nearest dedicated shop is in Festival City. After that we
found a place called Eataly with a terrace overlooking the creek and the Laser
Light Show.
It's a pretty spectacular view with Al Jaddaf on the opposite bank and Burj
Khalifa in the distance. We timed our arrival pretty well to get a full range
of sky colours. It's been a while since I came here and I think perhaps the
first time to come for an evening meal.
Many of my previous visits to Festival City were to kit out my apartment.
Walking around the IKEA superstore. That was before I discovered online
shopping. Before I even had a smartphone, in fact my visits to Festival City
span almost 20 years. From the time whem Burj Khalifa was just coming out of
the ground, driving around using a physical map book to calling up a ride with
the Careem app.
Dubai seemed like a science fiction theme park even then. It took me a long
time to adapt, moving from Africa. Now it's been my home for so long, I tend to
forget how crazy the pace of change has been. A night out at Festival City
helps to remind me.
