Category: england

Postcard from London, England: Sunflowers bloom amidst Shoreditch street art

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Sunflowers are heliotropic. To obtain their brilliant golden hue, their stalks turn, embracing the sun as it crosses the sky. Symbols of optimism and hope.

In 2014, a florist in Taiwan donated 1,000 sunflowers to students protesting a trade agreement between Taiwan and China. The Taiwanese students adopted the flower for their namesake – the Sunflower Student Movement.

Of course, the students cannot publicize their objections in China. But in 2022, some 17,000 tourists from China visited Great Britain. So what better spot to slap them in the face with symbolic murals they will recognize instantly – the trendy Shoreditch district in East London – its streets not shirking away from international protest art.

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Postcard from London, England: Art restores power to the station

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 Above: “Life in His Mouth, Death Cradles Her Arm,” Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, 2016. Photo grab from video.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

Architectural Challenge Number One, 1940s: Design an industrial complex on a site directly across the Thames from one of London’s most cherished landmarks – Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) was an accomplished architect by the time he was tapped to tackle the Bankside Power Station. Unlike his earlier two-chimneyed Battersea Power Station, Bankside featured a single soaring chimney front and center, prompting some to refer to it as the cathedral of industry.

Architectural Challenge Number 2, 1990s: Convert a massive decommissioned power station into a frame for modern art. An international competition attracted 168 submissions, with the Swiss architectural firm of Herzog & de Meuron selected for the adaptive reuse project. The firm’s respect for and desire to preserve the external features of the brick power station impressed the selection committee of the Tate Modern.

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Postcard from Bilbao, Spain: All Hallows’ Eve

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Store displays gave us advance warning American Halloween traditions had bridged the ocean to invade Europe.

Spain’s vulnerability is enhanced by the fact that Halloween is the eve of a national holiday – Dia de Todos los Santos, or All Saints’ Day. While not a full-scale conquest yet, Bilbao appears on the cusp of adopting costumes.

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