Meltdown Festival / Edvard Munch:The Modern Eye / The Tanks

Three little reviews of a day's worth of activities.

Antony Hegarty's Meltdown Festival has begun, bringing with it a whole host of cultural offerings. I attended the talk with actress Kim Cattrall, director Janet Suzman and SouthBank director Jude Kelly who were discussing the relevance of Cleopatra and the status of modern women in drama and today's society. Fascinating questions were raised about why there is a lack of female roles, why Shakespeare may be seen as a misogynist and how Suzman and Cattrall have interpreted the role and play in their production of Antony and Cleopatra. I highly recommend attending a future Meltdown or some of the later events in this Meltdown which can be viewed here.

The Tanks is a brilliant, industrial new space for the Tate Modern, giving room for more experimental performance and sight-specific pieces of work. Originally disused oil tanks, this exciting and vibrant new space allows for a 15 week festival to take place in the heart of the Tate, finishing on the 28th of October. Great to visit if you are planning a trip to the Tate Modern, The Globe or anything in the surrounding area.

Edvard Munch: The Modern Eye at the Tate Modern is a good exhibition which is highly let down by the inclusion of his photography. Munch's paintings are eerie, creepy, surreal materpieces that really captivate - the reworkings room in the exhibition highlighted this perfectly. However, Munch's photography lacks depth and focuss. Aside from personal preference about apects of his work, the real driving force behing this exhibition is the revealing of the man behind the paintings. Such clarity is given about his life, family and what motivated him. The Modern Eye is worth a visist, especially if you have little or no prior knowledge of Munch's work aside from The Scream. Three stars.

Unrestricted #5

Television: Homeland

Starring Claire Danes and Damien Lewis, Homeland is a terrific piece of American television. Danes plays CIA officer Carrie Mathison who is convinced that a returned prisoner of war, Brody (Lewis), is working for Al-Qaeda. This Golden Globe winning and Emmy nominated series is full of twists, turns and heart stopping performances from Danes and Lewis - Danes gives a beautifully frustrated performance whilst Lewis complements her perfectly. Everything about this show is perfect, from the stellar writing which gives the audience deep characterisation to the directing which is subtle and assured. The final episode of the fist season leaves the door wide open for the second season to be just as good. Believe the hype because this show is one of the best you will see.

Literature: Julian Barnes - The Sense of an Ending

The main theme which swirls throughout last years Man Booker winner is memory; how we remember things, why we remember them and how we, ourselves, can altar our memories. This novella from Julian Barnes is exquisite and tender. Every word is just as meaningful as the last and Barnes' writing is so fluid that we are taken through the life of Tony Webster, our unreliable narrator, with such ease, clarity and pace. The Sense of an Ending is not a romance, comedy, fantasy or a thriller. Instead, Barnes' novella is a timeless tragedy about humanity and how our mind crumbles with age, effortlessly combining genres for it is a combination of genre which makes up our identity.  

She Lay Down Deep Beneath The Sea - Turner Contemporary

Not only is this solo exhibition Tracey Emin's first since her Hayward retrospective, it is also her first major exhibition in her home town in Margate. It seems somewhat fitting, then, that this show should be sombre and serene.

The show starts with an angry exclamation I Said No (the only in the exhibition). This small canvas in unlike Emin's previous work. The colours are seaside whites, blues and greens, thus neutralising the angry omission. To its side is one of Emin's infamous neons - a woman lays bare, green as seaweed and sunk. These works make an intriguing start to what is a different exhibition for Emin.

In the first room the overwhelming colour is blue. Blue nudes adorn the walls; they are seductive, sleek and calm. These nudes lie on the seabed, defeated and watching the world go by. Through these works, Emin is coming to terms with her age, feeling that she has not necessarily given all she has to give, but instead feeling more relaxed with her place in the world. These women, presumably Emin, are not fighting to get to the surface but are lying contented. Sphinx is a white, painted bronze bust of a woman, fluid and deformed. This abstract sculpture reinforces this notion of being contempt.

Sex and sexuality play a big part in the second room, The Vanishing Lake, which has previously been exhibited. A series of tapestries are graphic in their depiction of the female form, much like many pieces in Emin's body of work, however they manage to feel refreshing. The most graphic, Rose Virgin, is alive with colour and meaning - is this the death of Emin's sexuality, or just the start? Maybe the most poignant and telling piece of work in She Lay Down Deep Beneath The Sea is a neon exclaiming I Followed You Into The Water Knowing I Would Never Return. This neon, for me, sums up everything this is exhibition is about; life and death, regeneration and rejuvenation. The journey into the water is the end of life as we know it and is the start of something new and exciting.

Nudes from Rodin and Turner also feature in this beautiful exhibition, acting as a source of reference and inspiration for Emin and her new work. These small works add an extra level of clarity and understanding to the exhibition.

She Lay Down Beneath The Sea is a pleasant departure for Emin and it is extremely fitting that it is held in her hometown of Margate. The beauty and simplicity of these derives, as always, from Emin's personal feelings and emotions and makes for breathtaking viewing. The Turner Contemporary is a brilliant exhibition space and has already made such a difference to the seaside town. Emin's new exhibition is not just an exhibition for fans of her work, but is also for people who have been sceptical of her work as I believe this will definitely give them a different perspective on Emin as an artist. Four and a half stars.