Dalston-Dubai

Staying on the theme of containers. This has been sat at the end of JBR Walk for a few months now. Its never open but has neon graffiti and fairy lights on the side  and I've always wondered what it was. So the other day it was open and its a temporary art gallery. Pretty cool. Its a shame it gets little passing traffic sat were it is, but group a few of these together and start moving them around every weekend and Dubai could be onto something. Also maybe get some cool art inside too...but yeah... potential.

I'm snowed under at the moment so am neglecting the blog. A very quick one to remind everyone to go to Sketch at Jam Jar on 17th Feb. Check out more details on facebook

"I Don’t Need Your Money Honey All I Need is Love" is the title of the new selection of work from the Farook collection on display at Traffic. With a big Hirst heart on show, this show should get you in the mood for valentines day...in a month.
5 Jan, 2010 - 27 Jan, 2011Traffic, Gallery II

photo and details from http://www.viatraffic.org/

Some weekend culture for those in Dubai...

The Dubai Portfolio Tilt.
By Alastair Newton-Brown
JamJar gallery
27 October – 27 November 2010

"I think that certain aspects of Dubai are beautiful. There is a very naïve and childlike feeling to this city, the people in it and the way in which it is built. What I find so interesting is the fact that you can walk 50 metres and move from the tip of a construction site to a five-star luxury setting. Many people hate all the construction and think it’s ugly, but I find it entertaining. When I look out the window at the construction sites I think about who those people are and what they’re making. And also who are the investors that are paying for this construction, what they do, where they’re from. Do they know their workers? Do they worry about money?"
By Nyree Barrett  Quoted from Time Out Dubai, 1 November 2010

This isn't in Dubai or Dalston but its awesome so had to share.

Federico Diaz: Geometric Death Frequency-141

Beginning October 23, 2010, MASS MoCA will present a new site-specific sculpture by Prague-based artist Federico Díaz. Created from 420,000 black spheres precisely milled and assembled by robotic machines, the 50-feet long by 20-feet high sculpture, Geometric Death Frequency-141, will fill MASS MoCA's entrance courtyard with a fragmented wave seemingly caught between movement and stasis.
Architecture critic and curator Jeff Kipnis calls Diaz's work "re-origination," comparing it to the making of a book into a film. In one sense the film represents the book, yet does so in an entirely new medium, and through this becomes something completely different. In the case of Geometric Death Frequency-141, the "book" is a digital photograph of the museum's clocktower entry courtyard as taken by the artist, which the artist then transforms into pure data, and modulates using analytical and fluid dynamic modeling techniques, finally rendering the data stream into a three-dimensional sculpture using state-of-the-art computer-aided manufacturing methodologies. The new work thus combines elements of photographic manipulation, data analysis, and computer programming, utilizing new techniques to produce a sculpture completely untouched by human hands.

This seem appropriate coming up to valentines day!
Love Letter is a project by Stephen Powers with the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and is sponsored by the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative. 
Nothing like this in Dubai yet, perhaps there's no need of 'beautification of derelict areas... dusty building sites could look more colourful though perhaps that's an angle?
http://www.aloveletterforyou.com/?page_id=11