48 Hours In Rome

"How amazing would it be to have a house party in the Colosseum."

When Ionia asks when we'll get to meet the Pope I know this won't be quite the art retreat I'd expected...

On Tuesday, we meet at Gatwick, Canada Goose coats in hand, to fly off for 48 hours in Rome. The destination was mainly my idea: home to the Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basilica, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, it seemed like the perfect procrastination-trip for my reading week.
Ionia and Emily were happy to leave the planning to me and were mainly concerned with how to wear 3 coats on top of eachother and smuggle in another bag onto Easy Jet.

We land in Rome and spend about 2 minutes contemplating public transport before admitting that there is really no other alternative but to get an insanely expensive taxi to our Airbnb. It quickly becomes evident that driver's licenses, red lights, speed limits, and lanes on motorways have not yet been invented in Italy. At one point our driver is holding her phone with one hand, typing on her SatNav with the other and steering at 80mph with her knees.

Pulling up outside our Airbnb- thankful for our lives and our limbs being intact- we are so happy to see the stylish interior and helpful Valentina. The place is so cute and, in true Italian style, comes with balsamic vinegar and olive oil for all our culinary needs. Valentina is even nice enough to recommend the local clubbing areas where all the American students go. Despite my lack of attendance at Motion or Theckla in Bristol, even I'm up for a night out in Rome.

For our first meal, we -obviously- head to the Jewish Quarter to check out the local's alternative to Golders Green High Street. We know we've found the right place when we walk out into a square and suddenly men standing outside 3 different restaurants start calling us forward, all offering the best food and, most importantly, the best deals. We settle on a schnitzel, chips and drink for €15, and congratulate ourselves on our bargaining skills. Upon entering the restaurant, one waiter tells us he is having an 'after party' at his place later, yet we politely decline his very kind invitation.

Ancient Golders Green 

Up early the next morning to get to our entry at the Vatican. It takes an incredibly long time to walk from the entrance of the Vatican to the entrance of the museum. We get through it by promising ourselves an ice cream and Ionia promises herself she'll meet the Pope, ignoring all evidence to the contrary. We whizz through endless rooms of Annunciations, Assumptions, Dormitions and Depositions and just head to the bits we find interesting. It is pretty astonishing to see the Laocoon and Belvedere Torso in the flesh, despite having to view them mainly through the screens of other tourist's iPads.

The Belvedere Torso 

Front row with the Laocoon... 

We get to the Sistine Chapel and Emily and Ionia leave me to stare around in awe whilst they attempt rebellious photographs. It's amazing to see the scale of the famous painting and makes me notice details I hadn't in reproductions, such as the many gory references of death amongst the muscular bodies of the Last Judgement. When we leave, it becomes apparent that Emily and Ionia had not in fact looked up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Sneaky shot. 

Anyhoo.
We then spend ages in the queue for the Basilica, but it's fine as we have our ice creams and it's pretty sunny. Ionia is, of course, content in the belief she will see her mate Pope Francis soon. Upon seeing the famous balcony, she runs forward as if he will suddenly appear to greet her. Unfortunately, I don't think he got the memo we were coming.

I'm sure he'll come out any moment, Ions. 

The Baldacchino 

To make up for this disappointment, we are all overwhelmed with the Basilica. It is truly magnificent. The Baroque drama is stunning. I am so excited to see Bernini's Baldacchino and Cathedra Petri. Even though I wrote an essay on them earlier this year it was only based on photos and that doesn't compare with seeing it in reality. Emily, however, mentions the similarity with the word 'dabuccino' and proceeds to explain the drug connotations. Meanwhile, Ionia finds a statue 'dabbing' and of course poses with it. This is the appropriate modern way to appreciate age-old artistic treasures, obvz.

Caught in the act of a tasteful dab. 

At least she got this touching moment. 

After the excitement, and the dabs, we head home and nap in preparation for our night on the town. For dinner, Emily serves up pasta with Kosher wine to delight any Italian/Jewish bachelor. We then spend approximately 3 hours getting ready and forcing down the wine which -unsurprisingly for €4- is disgusting.

Roll up, men. 

We walk to the local clubbing area Valentina had recommended. G-Bar turns out to be a metre by metre wide cupboard selling alcohol. Inside, squished up against the walls are adults who are double the age of the popstars whose songs are being played on loud speakers. Unable to actually squeeze into the bar, we stand outside, googling better places to go. We are offered bracelets by a dodgy dude, and have to stop Ionia taking it when she insists she thinks it is free. We order an Uber to a club called Vicious which promises to be the place to be for young people in Rome on a Wednesday night.

In our Uber, we drive all the way around the Colosseum and get stunning views of it lit up at night. This is when Emily utters the timeless phrase: 'how cool would it be to have a house party there.' Everything in perspective as per.

The ultimate way to view the Colosseum: through an Uber window 

After pulling up outside Vicious, 2 things become clear: 1) Vicious has been closed for years. 2) Our Uber driver absolutely had known the entire time that we would be needing a return journey.
Taking ourselves back home, we think wistfully of the Bristol triangle and ponder whether we should go to the waiter's 'after party' after all.

We go to bed disgruntled but are kept company by ambiguous noises outside which could be tortured ducks, mating cats, murdered babies or a combination of all of the above.

On our third day, we intend to see the Colosseum but, after googling we would need to pay entry, agree we got some great views last night from our Uber. Instead, we opt for another kosher meal, which seems like a good trade. On the menu, we are offered: sheep entrails, cow cheeks, cow tail, beef shreds and fried brain. We get the far more appetizing and just as adventurous schnitzel and chips. During the meal, Ionia enlightens us with 'if you sleep in contact lenses, your dreams will be in HD.'

With our tummies exploding out of our jeans, we actually do fit in some more culture with a walk to the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain. The streets around town are beautiful yet the only real adjective we can think of is 'Italian'.

The Trevi Fountain

When a fellow tourist failed to take our photo, we resorted to the ancient method of The Selfie Stick

Italian streets are very 'Italian' 

Finishing our trip, we attempt to get some dinner in the airport (yes, the underlying theme of our holiday does seem to be food.) We are about to buy a tomato penne dish when I ask the chef if it's vegetarian. He replies 'Yes... well, there's only a little bit of meat.' Ah.

Upon boarding the plane (with our left foot as Emily insists) we are chatting rather loudly. Em is educating us about drug lingo. An air hostess turns, beaming, to greet us and Emily proclaims "I'll tell you what dropping and bombing is." A great way to start a flight.

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CultureCalling: Wildlife Photographer of the Year

My latest article for culturecalling.com

Wildlife Photographer of the Year, M Shed

18 January 2017 | Hudi Charin

Until March, Bristol’s M-Shed will be showing the world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. We take a look at what’s being displayed in the 52nd year of the competition.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year showcases the work of pioneering photographers capturing the world’s most astonishing natural wonders. Originally the competition was limited to 3 categories. Now the show has expanded to 16 classifications, ranging from fungi to urban.

The competition is hosted in the M Shed, a renovated transit shed sitting on the Bristol waterfront surrounded by heavy cranes and boats. A photography exhibition feels a world away from this industrial setting. The photos forge a sense of calm, viewers absorbed by the images, drawn into each captured moment. Many of the photos in the exhibition appear quite spontaneous, as if a simple click of a shutter. Yet, accompanying plaques explain the time required to produce each work – a fascinating insight. Nayan Khanolker, for instance, waited 4 months before his intended subject—a notoriously reclusive leopard—walked in front of his camera.


® Imre Poty / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

The 2017 iteration of Wildlife Photographer of the Year questions our relationship with our surroundings and our impact on the wildlife with which we share this planet – particularly thought-provoking in the M Shed’s setting. The competitions ‘urban’ category is especially worth a look. Whilst these settings are the most familiar to us, the images lead us to look at our cities in a new light. Juan Jesus Gonzalez Ahanuda’s Refinery Refuge seems to be a typical photo of an oil refinery. Yet look again and you notice the nesting storks silhouetted against the sky. 

The collection is surprising, moving, poignant, informative and often quite humorous. The diversity on show makes it ideal for all ages. Young children will love spotting their favourite animals, enjoy guessing what is being shown in the ‘details’ category, and shiver at the more gruesome pictures on display. Older visitors can enjoy the detail of each photograph.


® Willem Kruger / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Over the years, the competition has become beloved. Some visitors clearly research the photographs before visiting, quickly offering their own takes on the reviews they had read. It is that type of exhibition: enthralling, educational, whilst also subjective. In a time where technology increasingly allows us to create highly edited images on our phones and laptops, these photographs remind us what nature’s wonders can deliver unaided. Fortunato Gatto’s After the Storm stunningly contrasts the same landscape in the first few seconds of dawn with the aftermath of a storm. Multiple different colours and textures explode in a single shot, all achieved naturally by juxtaposing the two moments in time.

This exhibition is very much worth seeing whilst it is here. It invites us to reconsider the world around us and the wildlife we are lucky to share it with. And, of course, these photographs are simply, stunningly beautiful. No prior knowledge is needed, the images’ communication is universal.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. The Exhibition is on display at the M Shed until 5 March. For further details, see online.

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16 of 2016's Art Moments

Leaving behind 2016, a year of huge political and global upheaval, and the deaths of many national treasures, I thought I’d turn to the perhaps lighter subject of the biggest art moments of the year. Here I’ve collected my favourite art experiences this year, as well as some of the biggest news headlines in the art world. Here’s to a year of more exploratory exhibitions, inspirational documentaries, and unveiling of new artistic mysteries.

 

The Armada Portrait 

 1: Armada Portrait

Elizabeth I’s portrait commemorating the events of 1588 was brought by the Royal Museums in Greenwich for £10million. This saved the highly-symbolic painting for the nation, before it was put on the open market or exported. Interestingly, part of this fund was generated by a public appeal which raised £1.5 million. Elizabeth I’s profile has been iconic since her reign, capturing the imagination and interest of the British public.  She was the very face of a strong empire. This interest in the monarch is touchingly captured by this 7 year old’s plea…

This schoolgirl sold these cupcakes to raise money for the purchase 

2: A-Level

This was the year that History of Art was questioned and valued as an A-level, but the debate went further, arguing whether it was worthy as an academic subject at all. Luckily, the threat on the subject was lifted and AQA announced it would not be axed. However, it bothered me how the arguments (made by many influential art critics) seemed to imply AQA was trying to axe art history as an entire discipline. There is a difference between the a-level and art history as an academic subject. I did not take the A-level, and yet I am just as passionate about the degree as my peers, it is not crucial to understanding and enjoying art history. It is a distinction I feel we should be careful to make.

David Bowie's iconic album cover 

3: Bowie

David Bowie was best known as a singer-songwriter yet his influence in the art world was far reaching. In 1972, the world was introduced to Ziggy Stardust, a flamboyant and glamorous rock character which inspired artists and photographers and fashion designers for decades. Brian Duffy’s photograph of Bowie on the cover of Aladdin Sane has become one of the most iconic images of the star, signalling the success and connections with Art Pop. In 2013, the V&A curated an exhibition simply exploring the career of Bowie. Bowie’s own art collection sold at Sotheby’s for £32.9 million.

4: Bristol Art Museum

My first visit to the Bristol Art Museum took place in the first few weeks of term. Amongst all of the madness that is Fresher’s, it was genuinely comforting and calming to be surrounded by the companionable silence that is an art gallery. Bristol is known for its contemporary, rebellious, loud art and this museum seemed like a small break from all of that. With an eclectic collection and beautiful building, it is nice to know it’s just a small walk from campus.

Visiting the National Gallery's Beyond Caravaggio 

5: Caravaggio

In this ambitious exhibition, the National Gallery surveyed the influence of perhaps one of the most influential artists (and of course one of my personal favourites). It would be hard to properly capture all of the works Caravaggio inspired, but this exhibition came close, especially with the accompanying book (which, obviously, I forked out £20 for).  Most exhibitions about Caravaggio would strive to have most of the pieces be Caravaggio’s. But this display was different, with only a few choice Caravaggio pieces, and the rest showing his strides in advancing the painting of light, religious allegories, and baroque realism.

6. Culture Calling

This year, I’ve started writing articles on arts for the Bristol branch of culturecalling.com, an online culture guide. It’s been a learning experience writing articles for a deadline, word limit, and editor! It’s been interesting going to exhibitions with the view of writing about it later, not just seeing what I want to see. I’m excited about continuing this for the year to come and writing about a broader range of subjects.

7. Design Museum

After years and years of planning, the Design Museum reopened in a beautiful new building in Kensington. Amongst smooth wooden curves and large open spaces, the new museum promises innovative exhibitions. Their permanent display ranges from typewriters to shoes, questioning the relationships between designer, maker and user.

The synagogue in Budapest 

8. Grand Synagogue of Budapest

During interrailing this summer, we visited this Shul in Budapest. The architecture was truly astonishing and the history was dark and unsettling. As Jews it was important for us see this part of our heritage and as an art lover, it was remarkable to see this piece of Jewish architectural history and the beautiful memorials to the murdered members of the community.

9. Harry Hyams

The developer of Centrepoint died aged 87. It was revealed this year that he had left £450 million to a charity that will preserve his extensive collection of fine art and antique cars for the nation. Many works of art- including Turner’s The Bridgewater Seapiece, portraits by Stubbs and Millet’s Cherry Ripe- will be shown to the public for the first time. This marks one of the biggest charitable bequests in British history.

10. Lost Caravaggio

When a painting was discovered in a French attic, it quickly caused rifts across the art world as Baroque specialists argued whether this truly was a Caravaggio original. If so, it could be worth around €120 million and could represent the planning that took place before his later masterpiece Judith Beheading Holofernes. It continues to add to the debate of how accurately we really can identify artists, particularly when they worked with many pupils completing some of their works.

11. Medieval Manuscripts

This year I learnt way more about this art form, something I had previously dismissed as boring and well… medieval. As part of my course, I’ve since realised what a crucial medium it is for us to access the key ideas that drove medieval people. And quite apart from this, they can be really detailed and beautiful. I also went to see the huge collection of illuminated manuscripts in Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum, seeing how techniques and subjects have developed over time was really fascinating.

 

The Mantegna display in Milan 

12. Milan

This summer I went to Milan’s Pinacoteca di Brera which had an exhibition comparing paintings of the death of Jesus. Mantegna’s treatment of the subject is so famous because of his ground-breaking use of perspective, and it was really something to see it in person and see the other artists the piece has inspired. And –not that I talk about him all the time- I also got to see a Caravaggio so that’s always a plus.

13. Painter’sPaintings

The second great exhibition I went to at the National Gallery this year: Painter’s Paintings was a huge collection showing the relationships between famous artists and the artists they admired. I loved the plaques next to the pieces which delivered interesting back-story about the friendships between some of the most famous artists in history. The selected quotes blown up on the walls gave great insights into these relations. For instance, Degas felt Forain imitated him and once said “he paints with his hands in my pockets.”

14. Palmyra

This year, ISIS recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria. Seeing the footage of the ruins of the once-astonishing archaeological site can remind us all once again how heart-breaking this is. Of course, ISIS has caused many atrocities and horrors across the world, and the destruction of art is at the bottom of a long list… but it does show how much we lose through war. Not just lives, but history and values too.

BBC's documentary Six Wives 

15. Six Wives

Lucy Worsley’s 3-part documentary on the wives of the King Henry VIII was a beautiful piece of television. At some points managing to blur the lines between documentary and period drama, Worsley added her own opinion to the ever-growing historiography surrounding the King and his unlucky spouses. She challenged the image of Katherine Howard, who historians have often portrayed as a rather stupid, slutty young woman. Worsley quite chillingly observes that if this were to happen today, we would protect the teenager as a victim of child abuse. Worsley also argued Protestant Catherine Parr had a huge influence on young Elizabeth, thus shaping the future of our Protestant country.

16. Volunteering

This year I began volunteering at Kenwood House in Hampstead. It’s been such a valuable experience, allowing me to access the behind-the-scenes of a stately home and gallery. It’s taught me how to deliver bits of interesting information to the public, how to check the humidity of the room to preserve the paintings, and how to keep little children focused on their cutting and sticking activity! It’s been amazing being up close-and-personal with some world-famous paintings such as the Rembrandt and Vermeer on display. I’ve loved seeing how people interact with the pieces. There is one man who comes for 10 minutes every week just to sit in front of the Rembrandt, saying he ‘sees something different every time.’

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