Ommatidium - Samuel Wilkinson and Beau Lotto

The Ommatidium is a permanent art installation created by designer Samuel Wilkinson and Beau Lotto, which is homed on Old Street at the Hoxton and Shoreditch end. It is partnered with the “immersive messaging” app Traces and celebrates the tech city that is London playing between the physical and the digital.

The installation is made up of 1,500 glass crystal prisms which refracts sunlight creating a prismatic effect of the colours of the rainbow as light passes through. At night, it is lit by low energy LED lights. It makes use of the “geosocial platform” Traces app which, instead of sending to a person, sends messages and information to a location, and in this case, the Ommatidium. 

#Ommatidium

Tech Talk: Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

Welcome to Tech Talk which will be a space for me to talk tech. So I will be starting it off by looking back at Windows 8 and its improvement in Windows 8.1. The operating system was launched three years after the success of Windows 7 and in many ways 8 succeeded the predecessor, but it did not quite translate it over to the users, while others found solace when using devices with a touch screen. 

Windows 8 opened a whole new world to tablets/hybrids and computers with touch screen as the operating system added in new functions and capabilities for such devices making it more universally adaptable to a variety of devices. The touch reaches the very edges of the screen. It also works well with the traditional manoeuvres of a keyboard and mouse.

It is also the first operating system that allows it to be used on processors other than ones by Intel or AMD (x86 architecture) as it employs the use of ARM processors. ARM is used in many smartphones and mobile devices, which offer simplistic design using power at a low-level.

The minimum system specifications required to run the operating system are as follows:

• 1 GHz or faster processor
• 1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 10 or higher driver

Windows 8 is much faster in performance as it was designed to be much more slimmer and sleeker than its processor allowing it to work on a wide range of devices. The core processor is much higher in Windows 8 than Windows 7, which gave it a faster start up and shutdown.

With a new design and faster response comes a plethora of new features and enhanced capabilities of the old. These new changes include:

• New lock screen
• New ways to login i.e. PIN or picture password
• Start screen
• Windows Stores and Apps
• Microsoft account integration

Some embraced the new changes that Windows 8 brought but a lot did not take to it with some actually preferring Windows 7 over 8. Microsoft aimed to address this much further down the line by sticking to it firmly and adding new changes which will soon become known as Windows 8.1. This changes aimed to even out the playing field on all levels. The changes include adding in a start button to bring a sense of nostalgia for people missing it and using the same background for both the start screen and desktop. Improvements were added to existing features such as a new facelift for thru Windows Store, able to change the size of tiles, boot directly to the desktop and new additional touch gestures.

I'm going to do a full run of Windows 8.1 of the new features and capabilities. Of course, I will also do a full run through Windows 10 and the hark back it does in bringing together the best of both worlds.

#Windows8

Plantation Lane

In one of London’s oldest parts is Plantation Lane and now features an art installation, which was installed in 2005.

Scrawled against the floor is texts that run across history making use of light, language and space. It is brought together through a collaborative project between Arup Associates and Simon Patterson.

The art installation features laser-cut letterings as it lines up along paving slits which forms a journey conjoining the texts of history as it flows and curves. The work also features a light installation of a wall of the moon surface measuring 41 metres long and 6 metres high. The work to different points of history from the Battle of Hastings to the London Blitz.

#PlantationLane

Philpot Lane Mice

Do you see it? No? Take a closer look… it’s there in the middle… Its London’s smallest sculpture as it resides on Philpopt Lane as the Philpot Lane Mice. The sculpture features mice fighting over a piece of cheese.

The story behind it is said to honour a 19th century worker who was working atop the soaring heights of the Monument. Found that his lunch was missing, he blamed it on another worker which resulted in a fisticuff between them. Unfortunately, both workers tragically fell to their deaths. Further mysterious disappearances of lunches resulted in the unveiling of the true culprits, which were found to be mice!

It’s really hard to find so putting on your eagle eyes are most definitely a must. Another thing worth checking out next door is the Sky Garden on the top level of the Walkie-Talkie building which is required to be pre-booked and is free to access as well as the alleyway Plantation Lane.

Sculpture in the City 2015

Sculpture in the City are a yearly sculpture trail found in the City of London, presented as part of City of London's Cultural Strategy. This year, there are 14 contemporary art installations created by international artists. This year's Sculpture in the City has won the 2015 Civic Trust Award recognising projects or installations that creates a significant contribution to its surrounding's quality and appearance.

1. Alter - Kris Martin - St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate Gardens
The installation is a metal representation of the multipanelled Ghent Alterpiece, original created by Hubert and Jan Van Eyck in the 15th Century, which was known as The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. Reproduced with only the frame and without the folding panels, the work encourages spectators to glance through the windows into the cityscape.

2. Bells II - Kris Martin - 99 Bishopsgate
This installation features two bells which are linked together by the mouths. The bell changes were kept to the minimal and it was positioned in a way that symbolised a kiss as well as an air of silence as nothing can escape the seal. Martin was inspired by small things that can make us see and understand the world around us.

3. Days of Judegment - Cats 1 & 2 - Laura Ford - 150 Leadenhall Street
The artwork shows to very tall, skinny cats, named Adam and Eve, as they pace back and forth. As a projection of our own fears and concerns, the cats have featureless facial expressions as well as a hand that obscures their face.

4. Ghost - Adam Chodzko - Leadenhall Market
The artwork is a combination of a kayak, coffin and camera rig with the paddler in the back and the passenger in the front. The guest would lay out as if in a coffin and the journey represents a metaphorical journey to the Island of the dead. A camera on the bow record each passenger’s journey.

5. Old DNA - Folkert de Jong - Lime Street, outside Willis
A rework on a 3D scan of a suit armour of Henry the VIII, it is a psychological take on power and how it can endure the test of time.

“The scene De Jong creates does not feel like an official history, but rather a hidden or unseen moment – an uncovered conspiracy from the past” – Sam Lackey, Hepworth Wakefield museum curator

6. Rays (London) - Xavier Veilhan - Fenchurch Avenue, outside Willis
Part of the “Rays” series created since 2011, the series is a tribute to Jesús Rafael Soto and Fred Sandback. The artwork plays on its surroundings, focussing on light, shadow and architecture.

7. ‘O my friends, there are no friends’ - Sigalit Landau - St Helen’s Square
Shoes made from a traditional material being bronze, challenges monumental sculptures and is done as a “commemoration of the future, when we will be able to slip into these shoes and be part of the community that will create a better history, with more solidarity, more generosity and regeneration”. The sculpture is built on a pedestal making it anti-monument, while the bronze shoe laces made with real laces brings in the softness and vulnerability.

8. Red Atlas - Ekkehard Altenburger - 30 St Mary Axe (Gherkin)
This artwork is park of the Atlas series, where it seeks to create balance between the physical to the architecture in the environment around us. It is held in place by the weight, where we can see the physicality of it against the urban space around it, making an observation between the object, architecture and ourselves.

9. Carson, Emma, Takashi, Zezi, Nia – Tomoaki Suzuki - 30 St Mary Axe
The artwork is a contemporary interpretation on Japanese woodcarving and is the first work that employs the use of bronze by Susuki. The work is a reflection of the diverse youth in London which the artist draws on from living life in London. Due to its scale, Suzuki was able to add a lot of details to them as well as encouraging viewers to draw in closer.

10. Organisms of Control #8 - Keita Miyazaki - Bury Court
Miyazaki created a utopian of a dystopian Japan following the tragedy of the Japan tsunami and earthquake in 2011. This artwork was created from the rubbles of the devastation as a way to symbolise new beginnings. Music plays as part of the installation, using original composition found in Japanese supermarkets as well as sounds from London and Tokyo and Tokyo’s transport system, bringing out the geographical connection between London and Tokyo.

11. Forever - Ai Weiwei - St May Axe
Forever was installed in September 2015 to coincide with Ai Weiwei exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. The work features multiplications of stacked bikes as a statement of the mass-manufactured “Forever” brands of bikes that were produced in Shanghai in 1940, which are slowly disappearing left, right and centre, in favour of cars.

12. Charity - Damien Hirst - Undershaft
The 22 foot bronze sculpture is all too familiar with my partner who immediately recognised it as the Spastics Society (now known as Scope) charity collection girl, which were prominent in the 60’s and 70’s outside chemist shops. The installation depicts the virtue of charity as a vulnerable symbol in a single girl, as she is ransacked and vandalised with coins scattered around her feet and a crowbar behind her. This was featured in Hirst first solo exhibition in 2003 as part of Romance in the Age of Uncertainty exhibition in White Cube Hoxton Square.

13. Breakout II - Bruce Beasley - Undershaft - Hixcox
Breakout II includes cuboid forms as they overlap creating structures of natural crystal with an added layer of patinas. The installation was created with 3D-design software and then crafted into solid bronze. The work balances between precision engineering and organic form.

14. Broken Pillar #12 - Shan Hur - St Helen’s Bishopsgate Churchyard
The Broken Pillar #12 is part of a series of works developed over the last 5 years. Embedded is an object found on location, which aims to question the world around us and the objects hidden within it.

#sculptureinthecity

Ben Uri - Out of Chaos

As a way to celebrate their 100th year centenary, Ben Uri Gallery hosted their Out of Chaos exhibition in Somerset House, showcasing works that have seldom been seen by the public. The exhibition maps out 100 years of Ben Uri’s history in London. The exhibition contains archival materials, detailing experiences of both World Wars as well as exploring art through the mediums of migration and identity. In fact, Ben Uri has over 1,300 artworks mainly focussed around 20th century art that specialises in issues surrounding migration and identity. 

They artworks are split into their retrospective designated themed rooms which include:
Integration & Identity – A look at artists’ that have moved from their European homelands to the East End, often bringing forth their traditions and identities, or those who have become embedded in the British social and artistic life.

• Conflict & Modernism – Explores the rise of the ‘Whitechapel Boys’ group of Jewish artists’ contribution to British modernism.
• Forced Journeys – Explores the era of Nazi Germany surrounding issues of identity and migration.
• Postwar – Explores the change in the artistic landscape following the start of multiculturalism and change in the British society.
• 2001 - The Present – Focusses on the current artists exploring identity and migration through art since 2001 and of recent acquisitions. 
• The Future – Young artists across different nationalities explores art through different mediums which include film, video, installation and photography.

Sophie Robertson’s Rage and Release are companion pieces. Rage deals with the struggle as Robertson’s muse struggles to get into her corset and howls out in anger. This may reflect society’s expectations on how women fashion their body, which may have harmful consequences. Release is otherwise on the contrary to Rage as she bathes placidly, where she accepts that she is an object of desire.

Photographer Natan Dvir’s Homesh Evacuation #1 work mainly focusses on the political, social and cultural issues. He beautifully captures a powerful moment during an eviction of Jewish settlers at a settlement in West Bank of Homesh.

Shmuel Dresner’s The Ghost Town uses a collage of torn and burnt book pages as reference to the Nazi book burnings of 1933 and at the attempt of destroying the European Jewry.

Mark Gertler’s Merry-Go-Round is an illustrious painting with vociferous use of colours. It paints Gertler’s vision of a pacifist looking at a nightmare of conflict as the carousel riders have their mouths opened in an unending scream. Author D.H. Lawrence said that the painting was a “a real and ultimate revelation”.

Josef Herman’s Refugees is a poignant expressions of Jewish refugees as they try to escape the dangers during the Second World War as they leave their homes. The painting shows the deep fear in the family’s eyes as they try to make their way to safety, while a wolf in the distance has a bloodthirsty countenance.

Alfred Wolman’s Portrait of Mrs Ethel Solomon in Riding Habit presents Mrs Solomon in very minimal dark colours against her skin complexion giving her an air of control, adding to her stance of pose.

#BenUri100

Trafalgar Square - Britain's Smallest Police Station

One of the things that may be overlooked in Trafalgar is Britain’s smallest police station. Located in the south-east corner of the square, the police station has quite a touch-and-go history.

A temporary police station was placed outside the tube station entrance at Trafalgar Square at the end of the First World War. Plans were put into place to renovate and make the police station permanent but was met with objections from the public. What they did was to make a lamp post that was hollowed out adding in window slits and light fittings.

This installation was finished in 1926 with the purpose for the Metropolitan Police to observe demonstrations and protests, especially in that year was the general strike. There were claims that the window slits were put in place as to fire out at rioters who got out of hand. It is also said that there was a direct phone line in the police station that was able to link directly to Scotland Yard should there be any trouble. Not only that, each time the phone was used, the light fitting fixed atop would light up alerting nearby officers of impending troubles in the vicinity.

From the pictures below, you can see an ornamental light on top of the police station which is said to be from Nelson’s HMS Victory. The police station now is now used as a cleaning facility cupboard, which has come a long way since the conception in 1926.



Instagram September 2015

Heartbeat art installation by Charles Pétillon at Covent Garden #CoventGardenBalloons

A photo posted by The Vinh Hoang (@thevh5) on Aug 31, 2015 at 1:36pm PDT

One of 20 "Tokens" as part of a permanent installation on Marchmont Parade, London. These re-imaginings of tokens were a centrepiece for mothers to recognise their children when they could not support them during hard times in the 18th Century so they would place their child in the Foundling Hospital (Britain;s first home for abandoned children). Once the mothers were in a better position, they would come back for their child. Many of the tokens during the time took the form of hearts. #tokens

A photo posted by The Vinh Hoang (@thevh5) on Sep 14, 2015 at 3:25pm PDT

The Adaptable House (6 Doughty Mews) makes use of all space in their architectural design with shelves plotted in every small crevice of the design #Cantilever #StructurallyFound

A photo posted by The Vinh Hoang (@thevh5) on Sep 20, 2015 at 9:18am PDT

#Diagrid design found on the facade of the Morgan Stanley Clinical Building of Great Ormond Street Hospital #StructurallyFound

A photo posted by The Vinh Hoang (@thevh5) on Sep 20, 2015 at 9:22am PDT

Arches can be found in many of the benches carved by the City and Guild of London Art School students for the Studio Weave designed St Pancras Church Garden #Arch #StructurallyFound

A photo posted by The Vinh Hoang (@thevh5) on Sep 20, 2015 at 12:11pm PDT

The Barbican Muse

The Barbican Muse is a sculpture suspended near the entrance to the Barbican Centre. Commissioned by Theo Crosby in 1993, the 6.1 metres long sculpture created by Matthew Spender, features a woman holding tragedy and comedy masks. It was installed in 1994 as to “float, glow and point the way” for visitors to get to the Barbican from the walkway from Moorgate Station. It was cast in fibreglass and gilded after.

#BarbicanMuse