That Was The Week That Was — 24th March 2025

One of the bonuses of being a member of places such as the V&A or the National Portrait Gallery is you don't need to book a time slot for your visit, or pay for any special exhibitions. So armed with our newly acquired National Portrait Gallery membership we made our way to see the The Face Magazine: Culture Shift. As we entered, to the sounds of Underworld's Born Slippy, I noticed many of the people wandering around with us were our generation – mostly in their fifties, being reminded about what a great iconic magazine this was. I say remembered, but at that time it was just something you bought and read. It's only with hindsight you look back and think oh yeah, that was a thing.

The exhibition was a great reminder of the magazine's impact on the culture of the time, and how it shaped the way we think about fashion, music, and art. The idea of a stylist working with a photographer had not been done up until then. Yet it was the tales of crazy deadlines, working for next to no budget that resonated with me. Great things come out of constraints and limited resources and like so many things, as things grow they become more successful but often lose that edge that was born from those constraints.

My own interaction with The Face magazine was back in 2004 when I'd just created Cinema Redux. They contacted me to say they had seen it online and would love to feature it in the next issue. I was beyond thrilled. Less so when I heard the news a few weeks later that the magazine was closing down and the issue I was slated to appear in would never be published. That was the moment I almost appeared in The Face.

The evening before we had dined at the Lanesborough Hotel. After dinner we had a cocktail in the gorgeous Library Bar. Having been there before I was convinced the bar manager was called "Elvis". I knew it was a short, unusual name. Turns out it was "Angel". Despite the faux pas with the name he still made me an amazing Gibson – my all-time favourite cocktail. This was easily one of the best I had ever had.

One of the things I always try and so when in London, and especially when I'm in Mayfair is visit Steven Skippen – an incredible shoe shine artist who practices his craft in the front of Gaziano and Girling. The loafers we had previously done for me still have evidence of the shine he created so I knew that he would do an amazing job of the black Derbies I left with him. Picking them up just before closing time, the shoes looked incredible. This is not the person you may see as you walk through Piccadilly Arcade, shining tourists shoes whilst people look on. Sure, they will get your shoes looking shiny but Steven is on another level. Next time, ignore the tourist trap and go just round the corner to Steven in Savile Row.

The following day, after a wonderful breakfast of French Toast, we got the tube over to the Saatchi gallery to see the Flowers exhibition. Spread over nine galleries it a beautiful homage to all thing flora and fauna and how they have been represented in art in all its forms from wallpaper to album covers. As might expect the William Morris company was well represented and the more I see of the work they did and how they did, especially in respect to his ideas on socialism – which was not without it's problems – the more I appreciate their legacy.

When not in London I was exploring a few new concepts including the idea of what would an Airfix Construction Kit for absurdists look like? This was born out of my plotted flocking motion prints. I scanned one in and then ran it through ComfyUI with that idea. The results were pretty pleasing. Completely impossible to built and without any logic but that's why I liked them. More to explore with this I think.