Sunday 9 May 2010

Safety first


Last night I went to the opening of Sur Place at Mediamatic, Amsterdam. They had built a bike track around the gallery, stretching to the walls so guests had to climb over the track inbetween boys speeding past on their fixed gear wheels.
There were only a few crashes into the audience: safety first. This would never get past health and safety in the UK!

God save the (Netherlands) Queen






31st April sees The Netherlands celebrate their queen's birthday: QUEEN'S DAY! it would seem that she has a far more fun day of birth than old Elizabeth. Britain take note: here is how to make royal events fun.
The root vegetable bashing/cutting games were pretty genius.

Saturday 8 May 2010

Moolah



Colors is a magazine, a website, CD's, documentaries and exhibitions that are part of the publishing activity of Fabrica, Benetton's communication research centre in Italy. It was established under the premise that diversity is positive and all cultures have equal value.

My lovely Italian friend, Daniela introduced me when she lent me her Colors issue 73 on money...
For the issue, Colors had money analysed in a lab and found substances such as oil, faeces and gold. Each section of the issue therefore corresponds to one of them and represents Fabrica's idea of it. The substances make up not only the chemstry of money but also its very exsistance - metaphors for non-conventional payments, inheritances, savings, transactions, bankruptcies and loans.
In several places in the world, people keep their savings in their mouth, as the man with gold teeth shows!
Basically, it is really interesting: I am signing up for a subscription.