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GIGGLES LIVE PRESENTS – LLOYD GRIFFITH @KARDOMAH94

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on GIGGLES LIVE PRESENTS – LLOYD GRIFFITH @KARDOMAH94

28th of April Giggles Live Comedy presented LLOYD GRIFFITH – IN:UNDATED (PREVIEW) and other exciting acts, hosted by Gary Jennison.
The line up happened to be all-bearded comedians – Jed Salisbury,  Jack Whitehall and debut performance from David Bugden.
Here is a little insight of the night at Kardomah94

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I am currently/secretly working on a beard-themed project and that week I started some work on it. And to be at the comedy gig where all the comedians had beards was my ultimate highlight.

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From left: David Bugden, Jack Whitehall, Jed Salisbury, Lloyd Griffith and Gary Jennison

Also – lately I go into a comedy gig knowing what I want to see in the final photos and to me it is the greatest reward.

Hull City Of Culture 2017

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 18

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 18

Like every other week in 2017 – I had to get some culture into my system.

Sure, life takes over, work gets piled up and some reflections from last week about the impact of Hull City Of Culture 2017 were things that effected my involvement…

The week consisted of two main missions – re visit Skin: Freud, Mueck and Tunick exhibition with friends/family cos I thought not seeing Mueck at the Ferens Art Gallery is rude.

Off course no photographs allowed, so …..

Also we went down the HIP Gallery to have a fresh view of the newest exhibition – The Ragman’s Son

“George Norris is “The Ragman’s Son”. He grow up in the Hessle Road area of Hull trolling the streets and 10 foots with his horse and cart collecting scrap metal. Let George share with you his life, his family and memories caught on camera. The exhibition will be Curated by HIP Gallery’s own Alan Raw, who has a particular interest in George’s work as he is himself the great grandson of a West Hull scrap merchant and a Norris family customer.”

NOTE: According to some unofficial sources, Alan Raw did not get any financial help from Hull City Of Culture 2017 so he took the initiative and organised this himself. So this exhibition can’t be found on the Hull City Of Culture 2017 website and isn’t part of the event list.
I find it bit sad and controversial – as this is supposed to be the celebration of Hull and what can be more Hull that The Ragman’s Son.
Really good image content and lovely to see the rawness of the subject.

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7 ALLEYS/ THE LAND OF GREEN GINGER @EAST PARK

7 Alleys  was something that I wanted to see through the lens – I knew the potential image content could blew the socks off so on Saturday, after a very long day, I dressed warm and headed to East Park.

I was greeted [not really] by a grumpy security officer who told me that unless I am from press, I can’t take photos. BECAUSE IN THE DARK WE USE FLASH.

Only the small-minded in photography can’t get their heads around ISO and the upcoming light will require zero flash light. BAM!!!

It was quite interesting to be part of something that is a bit of a secret until you experience it. People really mad for it in a good way, so there was a lot of pushing, running, squeezing and apologising. But I got there, I took some amazing photos and fully experienced the light/sound/firework/human magic.

It was very tiring and physical work, really difficult to deal with crowds whilst focusing on the perfect image. But heey – who said it is easy.

Here is a full-ish gallery of the amazing stunts, lights, fireworks and action. It is never the same through the lens, but this will be a good reminder of what went on.

There was a lot of WOW – moments, so I hope that The Land Of Green Ginger will have something along those lines soon…

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Hull City Of Culture 2017

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 17

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 17

There is a reason behind the word “challenge”. This week I was super busy with personal project Beardology, night of comedy and taking part in the Larkin Out festival at the Larkin’s Bar down Newland Avenue, plus many other life things, so I had to really push/challenge myself to get cultured regards Hull City Of Culture 2017 this week.

This week the focus was on Daffodil display and my own interpretation of it [just cos I missed it].
Ferens Art Gallery and Skin: Freud, Mueck and Tunick was another must see this week.

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When it was too late, I discovered that the Lego Daffodil display is gone. The daffodils were given away to people of Hull for small donation that week. I was very gutted, but I still went down to see it for myself.

But I was told that somewhere in Hull I can find two awesome kids who will show me the daffodils and I will be able to have my own photograph of these amazing Lego creations.

With bribery and good chat-up lines, they proudly showed off their daffodils and talked me through the day when they were queuing, waiting and ended up on TV. I was super jealous, but really happy for them.

Inspired by cheesy mainstream fashion magazine edits, I had an idea of how to have my own daffodil display – bit of patience and work, bit of Hull City Of Culture 2017 colours and yeah- I have my own LEGO DAFFODIL DISPLAY.

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Skin: Freud, Mueck and Tunick

LONG STORY SHORT – during the week I watched the film about Sea of Hull in making [incredible sense of unity and a lot of naked, blue people], I knew that the exhibition is out and I headed down there. I had a gut feeling that Mr. Tunik will be conscious about people taking credit of his hard work, so there will be no photos allowed. Which is really crap, cos my visuals are better than words.

And I was spot on – no photos are allowed in the Skin: Freud, Mueck and Tunick exhibition.
The staff has got more than three eyes, so I was constantly followed –  I think it is written on my face – I am a nosy photographer.

I am really sorry, but just as I was told off I took a miserable picture with my phone.

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I think it is ridiculous. This artwork would not be if not Hull. And the whole experience and photos is a fantastic reminder that Hull is amazing and people are absolutely crackers in the most incredible way.
Just have the recordings of the exhibition would mean a lot to me and potentially few other.

Just a quick feedback on the actual photographs and the quality of work.

There is no argument about the content, composition and overall idea. But MR. Tunik clearly used a camera that is not suitable for large scale prints. Very bad print quality and it kind of spoiled the viewing experience.

RON MUECK

I did study about Ron Muek and his fascinating life-like sculptures at Uni and I was hoping that I will have the opportunity to see his work in real life. Thanks to Hull City Of Culture 2017 it happened.

Ron Muek is Australian born, London based artist with incredible talent of shocking viewers with his sensitive and exposed sculptures of human beings.

“Mueck’s works command an uncanny ability to amaze with obsessive surface detail and intense psychic discharge. Engaging and wildly popular, they expose our need to validate our humanity, even as they thwart our attempts at full disclosure.”

Source and interesting interview with artist himself via link below:

The Progress Big Man A Conversation with Ron Mueck by Sarah Tanguy

I don’t know about my need to validate my humanity, but I was gazing at the sculptures for quite a while. It felt like I am a tiny ant looking at humans, analysing the danger they can cause.
It is magnificent execution of detail, skin and dimension.
The sculpture Wild Man without a doubt was the one that amazed me the most. The more time I spent looking at it, the more comfortable I felt.

It is definitely a must-see.

The exhibition is part of Artist Rooms Tour and will be there until 13th of August 2017.

Also I was told that there is a small gallery with samples and sketches of Mueck and I WAS ALLOWED TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHS.

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+ a random photograph of a random art workshop.

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This Bank Holiday Weekend I was hanging out at Larkin’s Bar Hull and Larkin Out festival, so I spoke to a lot of people. In some conversations Hull City Of Culture was mentioned and it is not always sweet.

For example, there are people [from Hull obviously] who feel like this year isn’t really about Hull. We get fed with art that “they” think we should be looking at and relating ourselves with. The people I spoke with are definitely with decent IQ’s and have some sense of culture, so their opinion really matters. And what if they are right? What if we blindly follow what the Hull 17 board is giving us as Hull’s legacy, culture and history. Some of it is a bit out of context, random and too arts’y farts’y.  We have been given a choice of many different culture experiences, but how do we filter what really is important for old and new Hull?

My own experience has been wonderful, I have had the opportunities to be part of amazing things and I appreciate art for its being, for the change that it is bringing to Hull and the sense of coming together to get cultured as a city.

But I also see these points applying to the events.

There was another conversation about Hull 17 bringing photographers outside of Hull to record the celebration – that is a joke considering the talented few in Hull have to hunt for jobs. To make it worse  – one of the photographers have slagged of local photographers… I have no proof of this, but even having the rumour amongst those who live in Hull being a truth, puts the whole Hull 17 to shame.

This year is a distinctive year for local artists, businesses and people, everyone should have a piece of the Hull 17 cake – that was the whole point of this.

Something to think about and reflect on.

See you next week!!!!!!

Hull City Of Culture 2017

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 16

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 16

I used to think that photographers who take part in challenges – daily, weekly, monthly clearly have a lot of spare time or they are just amateurs not willing to get a proper job. WRONG WRONG!
If you have a meaningful challenge that makes your life more awesome, if you gain something from the challenge, you are a winner.
And I am a winner. This year is super photo-busy, busier than it was each year at uni, I have taken a lot of photographs in sixteen weeks – amazing ones, bad ones, useless ones and a few life changing.

That is my wisdom for this week people

 

Now, week 16 of Hull City Of Culture 2017 has been bright and colourful, and interestingly – I went through some powerful feeling – drowning [I’ll explain].

Highlights/WEEK 16:

 

In previous weeks I have already attempted Slinkachu [ MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 11 ]

I made two sets – one of them was with tiny human figures and Hull City Of Culture 2017 branding and other one was with two silly penguins. The first set was not very successful, so I have to try another location/landmark. I was really hoping that The Deep and penguins will work, as they are slightly bigger and were made as a joke[ish].

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The idea was to celebrate Hull City Of Culture 2017 through something that Hull know’s but isn’t as obvious. The Deep is more than obvious, but the penguins are fairly new edition to Hull. And I mean….if I were to be an intelligent penguin aware of culture in 2017, I would probably escape too.
It was very funny, typical me – I was not prepared so my set was about to be swept into River Humber. As I was struggling, a nosy stranger [took pictures of me taking pictures of the penguins] offered to help.
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The result is pleasing.
I am shifting off slightly from the meaning behind Slinkachu, or just having some perspective problems. But I am still happy. happy me, happy penguins and maybe this will inspire other people in  a strange way.

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The Raft of Medusa  – CLEAN, CRISP AND CLEVER

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The quality standards of exhibitions in Hull have grown and like most of the people, I have high expectations. And The Raft of Medusa was a pleasure to engage with and look at. The artists have maintained a lot of detail and even the smells….beautiful. And really suits the nature of the Humber Street Gallery.

 

Somewhere Becoming Sea – goose pump[ing] experience

 

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Interesting interpretation of the bond between human and the sea, especially Hull’s longstanding prominence as a gateway to the North Sea and beyond. Again – beautifully represented. One of the installations really gave me goose pumps. I was looking at something that felt like men on ships in the sea going through something terrible..I am not sure. The big screen, darkness and the sound dragged me into the feeling that I am there and I am just about to drawn. Scary and fascinating at the same time. I had to have 3 minutes of deep breaths and conversation with one of the volunteers, to feel like I am okay.

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Another installation looked at the ever-changing boundaries between land and sea. We all hear about this, but not many of us have the chance to see the real “change”. The land is shrinking and the powerful sea is biting of bits of, what we think is ours. In reality we are all guests on planet earth and the real boss is the Mother Nature. The video was super realistic, it dragged me into the devastating feeling that the land is disappearing in front of me.
The photograph and description does not give the justice to the installations, so I really recommend to see this yourself.

Here is a link to read more about the artists, influences:
OUT TO SEA – EXPLORING HULL’S FASCINATION WITH WATER

 

Re-Made in Hull at the ScrapStore.

First of all, this was so exciting that I even considered to have a separate blog post. But heey – time is money and I haven’t got both at the moment.

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Re-Made in Hull is a series of educational craft workshops. Set in a pretend factory environment, it is designed to inspire families to make a difference to their community through increased environmental awareness.

yesyesyes. As I arrived early I went through the fantastic shop. I was like a kid in the candy shop. Really recommend this place if you are feeling a bit dull need cheering up. The stuff that they have will put a smile on your face and will inspire you to do a bit of crafting.

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At the beginning of the workshop creation bit, we had a lovely intro and health&safety induction with the lovely artists working there and running the workshops.

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No glue and no boundaries of what you can create.

I am not a the best in crafts, but I thought I’ll give it a go. And I brought Melanie with me, the 10 year old lady who has been cultured multiple time now.

She was about to make a blue sheep and I decided to make a robot.

There was a lot of people – most of them parents with children. A great way how to spend Saturday morning.

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The workshop was really, really fun. There was a lot of excitement, creativity and laughs. Each kid had different ideas, parents joined in and the artist helped to execute great ideas.
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I promised the artists from the workshop to give 10/10 for the whole experience. I have changed my mind – 11/10.

Also, this was the last workshop as part of the Re-made in Hull, but fingers crossed ScrapStore gets more funding to continue.

As you can see I had a busy week. And I will have even busier next few, so keep your eyes peeled.

P.S.
During the week I also visited town centre in hunt for daffodils, which off course weren’t there. But I have managed to get to awesome children to show off theirs. There will be an artwork coming next week regards that.

Hull City Of Culture 2017

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 15

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 15

HELLO.

 

At the beginning of the week, I was reflecting on 14 weeks spent following City Of Culture. It is a fantastic challenge to have.

Most of the weekly stories include more than one event, venue or activity and I get quite a wide range of photographs. And sometimes it become difficult to highlight the best.

Therefore this week I stuck to one event, also cos Easter weekend.

PAUL SMITH TO J.K.ROWLING BP PORTRAIT AWARD COMMISSIONS FROM NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY @BRYNMOR JONES LIBRARY IS THE FOCUS POINT THIS WEEK.

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The exhibition was one of the best selection of paintings I’ve seen. Some of them really eye catching and visually irresistible. I cultured a kid, we got do do some portraits of our own and off course – lovely chat with volunteers.

The Easter weekend was supposed to be filled with other photographic activities in Hull, like LEGO SPRING FLOWERS @King Edward Square, the Deep, Humber Street Gallery, but it happened to be food, lazy days and Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

But I have next week to catch up and I will definitely focus on more than one City Of Culture celebration.

SEEEEEEE YAAA NEXT WEEK AND HAVE A LOVELY LAST HOURS OF BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY!

Hull City Of Culture 2017

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 14

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 14

Last week I was back on track with Hull City Of Culture

This weeks highlights:

 

 

On Thursday my mission was to find the Museum of Club Culture and Mark Wigan’s exhibition [link above].

I was passing the POPPIES: WEEPING WINDOW twice and that was more than enough to take another photo of  the display – the image of setting up the artwork few weeks ago contained two photographs together. This time – to get in the display and nosy members of public, it had to be three photographs.

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I know, I know…million, trillion photos have been taken with POPPIES: WEEPING WINDOW , each photographer does something else, but I choose to be one of them and have the recording of this.

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POPPIES: WEEPING WINDOW  is one of those artworks that appeal more diverse people, people who think that art is kind of a nonsense. And the actual detail in each poppy is incredible. So well done and I wish this to become the landmark of the season two of the year long celebration.

Ferens Art Gallery and OFFSHORE: ARTISTS EXPLORE THE SEA was something that I thought I had a quick look too, whilst I am in the area. I also had a company, so I got someone cultured.

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It turns out that I have forgotten about the balcony view and the exhibition space upstairs.

By that point I was in a funny mood – I started to notice or observe the wrong things, rather than art on display…

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Sometimes being able to have laugh through lens is the key to a success  –  look at Peter Dench and Martin Parr… these two [my fave] photographers have made their career on having a little giggle about humans.

I enjoyed myself and I hope Oliver Fisher will not think I have lost the plot somewhere in Crete.

I struggled to find TRANSGLOBAL ART OF MARK WIGAN on Thursday, really annoyed by my lack of concentration on reality vs. map.
But I found it on Thursday and I got four people cultured [the fourth person is not in the photograph].

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For some unknown reason, the Museum of Club Culture has been on my radar for some time and I was super excited. AND the artist himself was there too. If Mark Wigan is reading this blog – I should have explained why I photograph his museum. ITS FOR MY BLOG :)))))

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The art was AMAZING, my cup of tea. It is a mixture between a child’s wildest fantasies and grown-up experiences. Some of them really captivating.

I would love to go again so if someone is interested to join me, please let me know.

WASHED UP CAR-GO was something that I’ve heard of but when approaching the venue, I was disappointed that I have had a false info. I went into the Deep reception to ask, to demand – I have four people expecting to see an exhibition.

But there it was, right in front of my eyes.
Three cars at the Deep car park, spread out and quite frankly – hard to spot if you don’t know what to expect.

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So clever, well though out and interesting. My not so cultural friends with a sceptical eye towards art, said that it is very cool to have such random and used-to things turned into art. I was surprised myself and it is worth spending few minutes to listen to the music and watch the short films in one of the most creative screens ever seen.

There was few obvious questions raised – has the cars have TAX ROAD AND MOT, what about insurance, if they gonna be used after display…

The last, but not least was the Fountain 17 

We walked through Humber Street and thoroughly enjoyed the local offerings into antique “crap”.

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Fountain 17  is something that was exhibited and promoted at the Degree Show 2016. I blogged about it 10 months ago, just after my graduation. At the time I really wanted to apply for the project, thinking that I can do something with the urinal, but it never happened. So I was super keen to see what the artists have done.

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NOTE: The last image is my replication of the actual use, but not sure if I had a reasonable excuse…just imagine of what my mind goes through…

 

Some of the ideas absolutely fantastic, some of them hard to relate to but still interesting art. Was super lovey to see the three prints of amazing Anna Bean, Anna is a pioneer and an artist to look up to. And another great woman – artist – lecturer Alison Field has got a very interesting interpretation of the Fountain 17

There is more displays of Fountain 17 in studio eleven, Brodrick Gallery HASAD and Humber Street Gallery which I am hoping to visit this week.

Hull City Of Culture 2017

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 13

by anetesoodaLeave a Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 13

Hello,

To all who follow me every week for 13 weeks.

My challenge appears very challenging when I am away from Hull.
Whole week I spent in Greece, Crete, soaking up sun, different culture, beautiful views, hard core driving up-hill and of course Greek wine.

From the very busy and hectic week 12 of my challenge, where I took on ReRooted Festival I have left a little cheat for the 13th week.

That week was the week the POPPIES: WEEPING WINDOW installation was out for the public to view, there was a buzz around it and a lot of people taking pictures.

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That week POPPIES: WEEPING WINDOW was surrounded by too many curious eyes to be able to take a decent picture, and for those who really wanted – patiently waited for that perfect shot.
I had no time to wait, unless I am there at 10 pm on the night, right?

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Poppies mean a lot to the British which is why there are two very brave guards making sure overnight POPPIES: WEEPING WINDOW are safe.

Week 14 plan is still under construction, as I am still sulking and recovering. I feel as though I have missed out on a lot by being away all week, so I have to catch up.

But it was very lovely to come back home to HULL.

 

Hull City Of Culture 2017

MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 11

by anetesooda1 Comment on MY CITY OF CULTURE – MY HULL – WEEK 11

Week 11 of my challenge being involved in Hull City Of Culture 2017 started off with a little panic – the work load glued me to the computer screen during the days, so how can I go out and be part of the celebration??
Also, the sudden reminder that The Blade is moving on Sunday, made me realise that the unfinished Slinkachu project must be executed this week.

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I finished off the set, little worried of how I am going to get two fragile sets in town.

My aim was to photograph these sets of Slinkachu and Hull City Of Culture 2017 [home-made] flags near The Blade. I’ll explain my reasons later in the post.

 

On Thursday however, I had a meeting in town so to be efficient, I decided that I finally want to visit HIP Gallery in Princess Quay and Hullywood Icons exhibition. There has been a lot of excitement about the exhibition, so I had to see the execution of photographs by Quentin Budworth .

Also, I got Oliver Fisher [very wise man and my accountant/marketing adviser] cultured.

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I have mixed feelings about the exhibition. First, the idea is really good, I like that local “celebs” and “known” people are involved and have been turned into these fantastic characters. The project is about Hull, about the world around us.

But then, I am slightly disappointed about the photographic and editing quality. Photographs are lacking professional quality and post-production on few are quite dreadful [like the one above]. I understand that everything is about the content and we celebrate…but everything from the idea to the end result should be 100% quality.
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Why on earth would you edit this together, if it is a lot more easier to do in real life. It is funny and a bit sad at the same time.

The other problem I had was the information about how the final photographs come together.
Instead if Quentin coming up with the idea of the movie, theme, characters and location/props, he asks to do all this to the people wanting to be part of the project and he just turns up with the camera.

The hype around the artist made me think that the whole thing is set up by the artist, I guess I just have to read in between the lines next time…

Overall, 6 out of 10. Great to see people involved and the ideas in each photograph.

Whilst in the gallery, I had a quick chat with the Creative and Cultural Company volunteers about the upcoming events, exhibitions [need to be informed at all times].

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On our way to the exhibition I approached a familiar face of a Hull City Of Culture 2017 volunteer to make sure I know the exact date/time of The Blade leaving Queen Victoria Square.

It was lovely that she remembered me from another event I went to few weeks ago. When I asked if she could spare a smile, she was more than happy to have her picture taken.
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The same Thursday morning I walked down the  Whitefriargate and Preston Likely’s Amuse Agents – Hull’s Premier Inconvenience Store

I was there on the WEEK 1  of my challenge, but I wanted to have a second look during the day.
Sometimes exhibitions and other art events have to be seen twice to have a complete understanding.

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People still stop by and have a sneaky look. Maybe because some of the posters/photos/adverts are hard to believe or are too bizarre to be true.

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The installation is very much Hull and it feels comforting in a strange way. Sense of unity and a whole…

I don’t really walk through Whitefriargate that often, the shop windows have changed. Years ago it was busy shopping area, but now it is kind of dead.

There a lot of promises given, by the looks of it, so hopefully the area will get its charm back soon.

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There is more…as I was passing the Queen Victoria Square multiple times, I was lucky to see the Roots&Routes season POPPIES: WEEPING WINDOW installation being set up.

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I was trying to get the Hull Maritime Museum in the frame, I climbed on top of the men’s loos, near the monument just opposite the building. Being there for two minutes gives me an opportunity to watch people from above and ohh, there was a few characters.

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This guy was completely from 90’s with his sunglasses/glasses – the ones that you can flop. haha.

SATURDAY.

On Saturday I neatly packed my Slinkachu sets and headed in town.

I draw a lot of attention from the public and volunteers, as they wanted to know what is going on.

One of them kindly tried to help me with the execution.

 

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Sadly there was problems.
The first one was the equipment – 24-70 mm 2.8 and 85 mm 1.8 did not cope with the small set.
My phone camera [Huawei Leica] did a much better job.
I will have to get my hands on a macro lens to be able to photograph this properly. In the past I have tried Slinkachu technique, but with much bigger figures, so I was kind of expecting the failure, but hoped that I will find a compromise.

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The reason why I wanted to create this is to express how I feel around The Blade – I feel small and being put on a scale. The Blade is fascinating piece of structure [art now] and no one can pass it without feeling something.

I also struggled to position the set, so that it looks like real life [the whole idea behind Slinkachu], I was even on my knees in the square.

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The plan did not work, but I have kept the sets and will find a way how to make this work.
I also have another set for a attraction point in Hull, so keep your eyes out for that.

 

SUNDAY.

 

On Sunday I walked down to Humber Street Market. My purpose was to photograph a lovely family business BLOSSOM’S BAKERY stall and try their gluten free, vegan cakes and other sweet things.

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Such a lovely lady/family, everything made with love and I wish them the best luck in succeeding.

Off course, I spent a bit more time and money in the market.
But I have to say, that Hull now has a regular socialising place and if you are super bored at home, you have an opportunity to get out and do something.

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Last but not least, I visited the Female Gaze exhibition at the Kingston Art Group Gallery and spent QUALITY TIME with Anna Bean.
She got me and Melanie THE KID cultured, along with other artists featured in the exhibition. We chatted about the meaning of female gaze, about narcissism and how complicated art can be.

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As you can see I have been here, there and everywhere, bringing you the most random combination of Hull City Of Culture 2017 so far.

Until writing the finishing lines to this post, I did not realise how much I’ve managed to pack in this week.

I will see you next week with more exciting stuff.

Love

Anete Sooda