Paris pt 5: Hammam Sandwich

It was with some trepidation that we went along to the famed Hammam of the Grand Mosquee in Paris for a good old steam and massage. Recommended again by a friend we heard you could get a good steam and scrub and a meal for one prix fixe - the so called 'formule orientale' (58 Euros). I hoped that my poor French wouldn't impact on the experience and I was sort of proven wrong - the guys were very friendly and as welcoming as you would expect when a pasty English type shows up. The sauna and steam room were hot in many senses of that word, though I was only there for the hammam experience (honest!) - the final and hottest steam room had a visible line where the warm air ended and superheated steam begin - and this so hot you could hardly breathe it. One detail I noticed was that in the holes in the wall the steam was coming out from, there was sprigs of rosemary jammed in, giving it a lovely medicinal scent. I must have spent a couple of hours in there, steaming, getting scrubbed, shower, more steaming, massage, steam... you get the idea. Then afterward starving heading up to the packed Grand Mosquee cafe and restaurant for my couscous and tea, which were delicious.


The whole place was rammed with people sitting in the beautiful courtyard having Arabic pastries and sweet mint tea. Definitely a brilliant experience, and a great place to marvel at the many different people and cultures that make up this incredible city.

Paris pt 4: Diamanda Galas

I anchored my Paris trip to a concert on Saturday night by Diamanda Galas, the brilliant Greek American performer and pianist, at the Maison de la Musique in Nanterre, a few minutes out of Paris on the A line of the RER.


Me and the French goths (and a couple of English ones that I could hear) made our way from the sunny streets outside to the blackened auditorium inside for a rare and quite intimate show. With a set heavily leaning towards her favourite French inspirations (Brel and Piaf), and speaking pretty good French throughout, she pleased the crowd and came back for three encores - no mean feat, this being the town that no doubt invented them (with encore being a French word and all innit).


My favourite was Fernand, sung with a particular beauty that night. See a performance from last year in Copenhagen below.

Paris pt 3: Nice Pere Lachaise

Paris pt 2: African Voodoo at Fondation Cartier

On the recommendation of another friend we visited the Cartier Foundation. "Even if it's closed you can just look at the architecture. And indeed I loved the Jean Nouvel designed indoor-outdoor trickery of it - and the beautiful 'wild' garden - just the sort of planting I love (by Lothar Baumgarten I learned).

As it happened though the space was very much open and occupied by one of the most intriguing and brilliant exhibitions I've seen in a while. Vodun: African Voodoo showcases the collection of the late French self taught Primitive art connoisseur Jaques Kerchache, who seems like a complete legend to be honest. He was one of the first people to see so-called 'primitive' work as art in its own right, rather than a simple artefact. This exhibition, organised by the Foundation with Mr Kerchache's wife for the tenth anniversary of his death, features many work from his collection of so-called Bocio sculptures - man made objects that "emanate qualities of tension and foreboding...used for aggressive and protective ends to effect various changes in life."


The sculptures, made of diverse materials including animal and human parts, blood, keys, padlocks, hair, beads, shells and plants, are designed specifically for their bearer with a diviner, their ingredients a closely guarded secret. The structure of them is symbolic, so that for instance the wrapping of a figure in twine can be associated with feelings of anger and imprisonment. A truly fascinating show and well worth seeing if in Paris.


The set design is beautiful as well, courtesy of Enzo Mari.


On at the Fondation Cartier until 25 September. Photos from me, Dezain, Domus and the Fondation Cartier.

Paris: Madame Gres at Musee Bourdelle

We were lucky enough to be able to visit Paris for the Bank Holiday weekend just gone - and it was a beautiful time. The weather was incredible, the people were incredibly helpful and goodlooking, the hotel was great, and there were attractions aplenty. First on the list was Madame Gres at the Musee Bourdelle sculpture museum.



Dedicated to the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, whose home and studio the premises once was, the exhibition intersperses Bourdelle's work with the intricate drapes and folds that was Madame Gres' trademark. The setting alone was worth the visit - but all together it worked very very well, even to a layman like me with little knowledge of either artist.

Galas to Public: Eat it bitches!

We saw this at the Barbican at the weekend. The staff all seemed a little embarrassed at the intensity of the sounds, especially as it was elsewhere a beautiful sunny day, but it was pretty much what it said on the tin. I didn't know what to expect, but it was certainly meant to get you right in the ears and eyes. This interview from Run Riot explains the work and Diamanda's outlook pretty well - sample text:

LD (Run Riot): Are you working on anything new at the moment? What else is coming up for you in 2011?

Diamanda Galas: A large work dealing with Alzheimer’s and dementia in the very old and the horror of that ignominiousness as it is experienced. Yes, for those who laugh, more unpleasant subject matter from Ms. Galás, and eat it bitches, you too boys who laugh in the pubs. When you die you will cry alone and the smell of your own shit will be your only best friend. Have a nice life, pansies!

Image and video from Run Riot/Diamanda Galas

Milan 2011 - Tokujin Yoshioka at Moroso

Tokujin Yoshioka delivered a beautiful installation at the Moroso showroom - with the beautiful lighting and the smoke, it wasn't quite like being inside at all.







Sadly though the rain earlier that day wasn't a good friend to the beautiful white chairs or floors.