Featuring Pam Hawkes and George Underwood, each belonging to a particular strain of European art – one that focuses on the senses and the mind over pure logic and realism, a tradition stretching back to the dark ages via Fuseli, Bruegel and Bosch. Pam Hawkes This new collection of work by Pam Hawkes is an… Continue reading Modern Gothic at the Catto gallery
The ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence (AI) image colourisation were recently brought to public attention when several historical images were altered using digital algorithms. Irish artist Matt Loughrey digitally colourised and added smiles to photos of tortured prisoners from Security Prison 21 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which was used by the Khmer Rouge from 1975–1979.… Continue reading The controversial history of colourising black-and-white photos
One of the most renowned and valuable timepieces in the world, the Breguet No. 160 “Marie Antoinette” watch, will go on display for the first time in the UK at the Versailles: Science and Splendour exhibition, opening at the Science Museum in London on 12 December 2024. This masterpiece, designed by legendary Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis… Continue reading Marie Antoinette’s Breguet watch to be displayed in London
I didn’t put in my headphones or listen to any music for a week. This is what happened. If you are of my generation (Gen Z), then you have probably been a chronic music listener for as long as you can remember. Since I got my first pair of headphones in my early teens, I… Continue reading Take off your headphones, get out of your head
One of the great paradoxes of human endeavour is why so much time and effort is spent on creating things and indulging in behaviour with no obvious survival value — behaviour otherwise known as art. Attempting to shed light on this issue is problematic because first we must define precisely what art is. We can… Continue reading What’s the point of art?
Fast-fashion brand Shein expressed interest last year in listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). But — having met some opposition from US politicians, including Republican Florida senator Marco Rubio — it has now reportedly turned its attention to London. While this would be a boost for the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which has… Continue reading As governments crack down on fast fashion’s harms, could Shein lose its shine?
In September 2024, Wellcome Collection will present Hard Graft, an exhibition exploring experiences of physical work and its impacts on health and the body. Making connections between undervalued labour, the people who do it and the spaces where it happens, this exhibition brings into focus the people whose health, work and rights remain hidden on… Continue reading Hard Graft — work, health and rights
In 2012, Prada took an unconventional approach by recruiting actors renowned for their villainous roles to showcase their suits, in which the phrase “the devil wears Prada” took on a literal meaning. For the fall 2012 men’s show at Milan Fashion Week, Prada opted for a twist by featuring a cast of notable antagonists instead… Continue reading Defoe, Oldman and Brody are Prada villains
Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, is an 1818 novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Set in the late 18th century, it follows scientist Victor Frankenstein’s creation of life and the terrible events that are precipitated by his abandonment of his creation. It is a Gothic novel in that it combines supernatural elements with horror, death and… Continue reading Frankenstein — how Mary Shelley’s sci-fi classic offers lessons for us today about the dangers of playing god
“In Book IX, Milton presents Adam and Eve’s harmonious relationship with the natural world as the clearest symbol of their prelapsarian innocence”. In light of this comment, and with close reference to relevant contexts, discuss Milton’s presentation of nature in Paradise Lost Book IX. Throughout Paradise Lost, the reader is made aware of Milton’s tendency… Continue reading Nature and nocuousness — an exploration of Milton’s presentation of prelapsarian Adam and Eve
