Spa Day!

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a spa with my Mum! Surrounded by a forest, the grounds were really beautiful and, as cliche as it sounds, I felt so peaceful and relaxed. There was a lake around the side where we inevitably took some photos in the sunset, and there was also an outdoor pool with these giant pods that you could sit in by the side of the pool.

We were lucky enough to have a ‘Head in the Clouds Massage’ which was predominantly a massage on the head and shoulders. I have a lot of pressure on these parts of my body due to stress, so it was really relieving for me. I also took a book (Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire – read my book review here!) and my Mum took a book that I had convinced her to read because it’s amazing (Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig – yet another book review here!). Aside from reading, we also took part in a Stretch & Relax exercise class which was predominantly yoga. I really enjoyed it and it helped us relax in the evening before bed.

The following day I was feeling extremely tired (a combination of lack of sleep and being too relaxed – if that’s even possible) so I went for a lie down by the pool. Unexpectedly, as soon as I sat down on the bed, it started to wobble and I realised it was a water bed! I was a bit shocked to say the least. I hadn’t tried one before so it was quite strange feeling the water underneath me and yet not being in contact with it. However, it was really comfortable and I almost drifted off to sleep whilst listening to some piano music.

Overall, I had such a fun time and it was a nice break away from my phone and the outside world (something we all need from time to time). I thought I would share a few photos below if you’d like to have a look!

 

 

A Peek into a Sculpture Garden

A week ago, I took a trip to a sculpture garden (it was actually about 10 minutes away from where I live so I didn’t really have an excuse not to go!). Apparently it’s only open every two years, so it was perfect timing that I had just got back from university in time to see it – plus student tickets were free!

I can’t say I’ve ever been to a sculpture garden before. I love browsing art and books and all things creative so I knew I was going to love it. It brought out the photographer in me who ran round taking photos of everything she could! So naturally, I’m here to share them with you all!

 

Have you seen any interesting art lately?

Do you have any suggestions for where I should go next?

Trip to an Art Exhibition! (Brian Clarke)

At my university (UEA), there is a Sainsbury’s Centre for Visual Arts (and no, it’s not a supermarket, like my friend thought). I decided to go there for the first time a week or so ago, even though I’ve already been here a year (I know, I need to up my game) and it was actually such a cool place so I wanted to share my views with you all!

Although there are some displays which are permanently there, I decided to go to the Brain Clarke exhibition (and as a student at the uni, I got a free ticket too!) It was very quiet walking around. In fact, I was one of the only ones actually at the exhibition, but it meant I had all the time in the world to look around and gather my own thoughts and opinions about the pieces.

The majority of Brian Clarke’s work surrounds the representation of stained glass. It doesn’t only look seriously cool in the light, but I started thinking about why Clarke decided to do this. I thought the transparency of the stained glass perhaps relates to the transparency of us as humans. It seems that Clarke’s work exposes a lot of human emotions and the idea of being able to see into someone’s soul is how we become to understand them, but also understand ourselves.

I think this deeper level of human emotion is what made me feel so connected to the artwork. There were some particular pieces that represented the effects of grief and I really saw myself in these, not in terms of grief but in terms of anxiety. And I think it’s pretty cool how these images of facial expressions could mean completely different things to different people, depending on what circumstances they are in at the time. That’s what I love about art – you’re not only seeing into the mind of the artist, but a lot of the time you’re seeing yourself (because you unconsciously want to know yourself, and sometimes art is the only way you can). I often wonder if the artist thinks about whether we know the proper meaning to their work. But really, does it even matter?

So if you’re an art fan and ever get the chance to see Brian Clarke’s work, I definitely recommend it! Although I’ve only spoken about the stained glass, he also produces a lot of other wacky displays that seem totally weird on first glance, but make for a good think!

If you want to see more photos from the exhibition, I’ve posted a couple more on my instagram here.

Is Photography Real?

Last semester we had a lecture on memoirs and there were a few things that really inspired me to write a blog post, however I’ve only just got round to digging it up and actually putting these words to a screen. The lecture mostly focused on photography which is something I’m interested in anyway, however some of the quotes really made me think a lot deeper in terms of the different perspectives of a photo and how it changes its meaning.

The quote that particularly stood out to me was the one by Roland Barthes:

“In front of the lens, I am at the same time:

the one I think I am,

the one I want others to think I am,

the one the photographer thinks I am,

and the one he makes use of to exhibit his art.”

I really like this because it reflects the subjectivity of photography but also its falsity. What one captures on a camera is not necessarily what reality is. As we all know in terms of social media, reality is manipulated a lot to give out the impression that we are certain types of people. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that a lot of this isn’t true, or is manipulated to seem better than it actually is. I’m sure you’ve all had moments where you tell a story to a friend and realise that it sounds so much more exciting when you tell it than when it actually happened, even though you haven’t exaggerated anything. Everything almost always sounds better in description. And I guess everything almost always looks better as a photograph too.

But if a photograph really does have all these elements that Barthes suggests, which one is the correct one? Is there really a correct way to pose for a camera or to view and understand its result? Can we even distinguish a line between being who we think we are and what we want others to think we are? After all, it’s somewhat innate to want to be a better version of ourselves. If everyone was their real self, would photographs even be desirable? Perhaps real life isn’t interesting enough to be art. Or perhaps it’s only interesting enough when shown in a particular light.

Susan Sontag says that photographs are “not so much an instrument of memory as an invention of it or a replacement”. This supports the idea that photographs are inevitably a false representation of reality. I think they do show it successfully to some extent, but there’s always going to be that screen that lies over it like a filter, as if to highlight certain aspects of it that weren’t otherwise so attractive. Look at an iphone for instance – all those filters to change your photos. But thinking about it, the photo itself is already a filter. You’ve already filtered out the living moment and the background and all the other attempts that remain in your recently deleted. You’re simply putting filters on a filter and you just keep adding filters until it’s not even remotely real at all. We all do it. In some sense I do it when sharing my writing on instagram. There’s nothing wrong with it, but isn’t it scary? Isn’t it scary that something has been manipulated so much that we see it as normal when it’s far from it?

Sontag says that “Narratives can make us understand [but] photographs do something else: they haunt us”. But the real question is: is it good to be haunted?