Thursday, 21 August 2008

Rowing on a Rooftop



Last night I went with a friend to see the Psycho Buildings Exhibition at The Hayward Gallery. We walked through a myriad of experimental architecture like Lycra pod rooms with sacks of spices hanging - mmmmm - and distorted viaduct tunnels, etc.
The highlight of the evening, though, was the installation entitled, "Normally, Proceeding and Unrestricted with without Title" by a group of Austrian artists. They built a body of water on the rooftop of the Hayward and built little boats - with no rudders or engines, just big watercooler bottles attached to the back as "bumpers" I would guess. One first has to walk out onto the dock, which is bouncing on the water and looks as though it's falling apart. You're then asked to plunk yourself into these adorable little boats, that frankly, look like glorified cardboard boxes.
It was fully dark, so we were rowing under the city lights with the London eye and parliament off in the distance, and I found myself filled with glee while we figured out how to work the oars and how not to bump into the others! Thankfully we managed without any crashes or splashes - truly surreal and amazing!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I'm so glad you are having these fun experiences and sharing them with your mom (and cyberspace).