An executioner’s axe is among items on show at the Executions exhibition, Museum of London Docklands. ALL IMAGES: Courtesy of Museum of London Docklands.
Museum of London Docklands’ major exhibition, Executions, has less than a month to run, closing on 16th April. This week sees a special late opening on Friday night (24th March) with a candlelit evening featuring screenings, pop-up talks and tours. There will be execution ballads sung live and a selection of exhibition-inspired drinks available as visitors have the chance to explore some of London’s grisly past before the doors clang shut for good. For more, see www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london-docklands/whats-on/exhibitions/executions.
Laying out the vest King Charles I was executed in. ‘Final clothes’ and the Newgate prison door on display in the exhibition.
British artist Finn Campbell-Notman has been named as the winner of the Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year for his creation of a contemporary seascape inspired by the work of 17th century marine painters, Willem van de Velde the Elder and his son, Willem van de Velde the Younger. Campbell-Notman’s work, Fail We May, Sail We Must, has gone on display at the Queen’s House in Greenwich which is currently hosting the new exhibition, The Van de Veldes: Greenwich, Art and the Sea. The new painting was inspired by Campbell-Notman’s personal experience as he found out more about the Van de Veldes while travelling in The Netherlands. “My approach to landscape painting is that a painting is rarely, if ever, a direct transcription from a single view, even those painted en plein air,” Campbell-Notman said in a statement. “One composes and constructs, simplifies, rearranges and perhaps adds certain elements to create a picture. The finished painting is thus a record of a dialogue with what is seen and what is reflected within and want I to transmit; between what is seen and what is felt.” For more, see www.rmg.co.uk/queens-house.
‘Whorled (Here After Here After Here)’ by Jitish Kallat goes on display at Somerset House in London, as part of the Indian contemporary artist’s first major public UK commission, on Thursday 16th February, 2023. PICTURE: David Parry/PA Media.
A new art installation – Jitish Kallat’s Whorled (Here After Here After Here) – has been unveiled at Somerset House. The work, located in the Edmond J Safra Fountain Court, is more than 30 metres in diameter and comprises two intersecting spirals that represent a “seismic ripple” or a galactic whorl which spirals outwards from the centre of the courtyard. The work, which draws upon sacred geometry and alchemical diagrams, features two 168 metre scrolls which follows the visual language of UK motorway signage. As visitors walk through the spirals, they are taken on a journey past signs indicating the distance from Somerset House to more than 300 locations across the planet and beyond including celestial bodies, such as the Moon, Mars, and distant stars in the Milky Way. The installation is free to see until 23rd April.
‘Whorled (Here After Here After Here)’artist Jitish Kallat. on Thursday 16th February, 2023. PICTURE: David Parry/PA Media Whorled as seen on Thursday 16th February, 2023. PICTURE: David Parry/PA Media
A celebration of the artists who have painted London on a monumental scale, The Big City is currently running at the Guildhall Art Gallery. The exhibition, which runs until 23rd April, can be visited on a ‘pay what you can’ basis. For more, see www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/events/the-big-city.
Ice skating at Somerset House. PICTURE: Owen HarveySouth Bank Winter Market. PICTURE: David OglePart of the Miracle on Leake Street event in Waterloo. PICTURE: Leake StreetChristmas at Kew. PICTURE: Royal Botanic GardensGlide at Battersea Power Station. PICTURE: Joshua Atkins
Christmas is looming so here’s our first look at some of London’s Christmas light displays…
Christmas lights in Regent Street. ALL PICTURES: Jed Leicester/PinPChristmas lights in South Moulton Street, Mayfair…Christmas tree and lights at Covent Garden.One of the Selfridges Christmas windows on Oxford Street.Harrods Brompton Road frontage decorated for Christmas.
Rishi Sunak was appointed as the nation’s third Prime Minister in less than two months today following Liz Truss announcement she would resign on Friday. Sunak visited King Charles III at Buckingham Palace after Truss visited earlier to officially resign.
‘The Big Buzz’ by Karine Aigner, USA, winner of Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
An up-close image of a buzzing ball of cactus bees over the hot sand at a Texas ranch has won American photographer Karine Aigner the honour of Wildlife Photographer of the Year. The image depicts male bees as they compete for the attention of the single female bee at the centre of the ball. Aigner is the fifth woman to win the Grand Title award in the 58 year history of the competition, which is run by the Natural History Museum. Her image is being shown along with that of 16-year-old Thai Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn – who won Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year for an up-close image of a whale’s baleen – as well as those of category winners in this year’s contest in a redesigned exhibition at the museum in South Kensington. Alongside the photographs, the display features short videos, quotes from jury members and photographers and insights from museum scientists on how human actions continue to shape the natural world. The exhibition can be seen until 2nd July. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year . The 59th annual competition is now open for entries. For more on how to enter, see www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/competition.
‘The Beauty of Baleen’ by Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn, Thailand, winner of Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
Afternoon tea is served under the glass-dome of The Savoy Hotel‘s Thames Foyer. Once an outdoor terrace, the covered-in foyer was opened in 1889. The custom of afternoon tea, which dates back to 1840, had become a tradition at the hotel by the 1920s and, as well as sandwiches and patisserie, included everything from English muffins to fruit salad, chocolates to sweet waffles known as gaufres. Entertainment included music played by a house band while professional dancers demonstrated the latest moves for guests. Guests at the famous London hotel have included everyone from Sir Winston Churchill to Marilyn Monroe. For more, see www.thesavoylondon.com/experience/afternoon-tea-london/.
Flowers left outside Buckingham Palace. PICTURE: Samuel Regan-AsanteLeft – Flowers and tributes left outside Buckingham Palace and, right, a bus shelter in Shoreditch. PICTURE: Samuel Regan-AsanteA electronic billboard at Piccadilly Circus. PICTURE: Samuel Regan-AsantePrime Minister Liz Truss writes in a book of condolence at Number 10 Downing Street to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. PICTURE: Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)The flags at Number 10 Downing Street have been lowered to half mast after the death of Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. PICTURE: Rory Arnold/No 10 Downing Street (licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Exploring London 