Beautiful yet slightly spooky lakes and birch tree forests form part of the natural setting in Henning Mankell’s Swedish detective series featuring Ystad detective Kurt Wallander. (Image by HWL)
Those who know us will know of our, admittedly tragic, fixation with the fictitious detective that is Henning Mankell‘s Kurt Wallander. What they may not know is that this fixation prompted a summer holiday in Skane, Sweden… Visitor’s attempting to undertake a similar pilgrimage can check out this (exhaustive) site dedicated to all things Wallander/Skane. We hope our photos might inspire your own travels…
It’s hard to say what makes Wallander such an endearing character: grumpy, isolated, impatient, sceptical, angry and hopeless… The characteristics that would make Wallander so unlikeable in person, also render him humane. In his weakness and pain we see ourselves, but for the grace of God go I… It’s Wallander’s humanity and the sense of melancholy imbued in the Swedish landscape rather than the convoluted plots and intrigues, that gives Mankell the crown of Scandanavian crime. (If you will permit us a side rant, the BBC TV production of Wallander totally missed the humanity in Kurt, concentrating only on dysfunction; we recommend the original Swedish version by Yellow Bird which is not only more faithful to the characters, it also acts as a compliment to the book series, the British series simply replicates them.) In the event you haven’t read them, other Swedish crime writers worth trying are: Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, Hakan Nesser and of course, the ubiquitous Stieg Larsson. (If you find those too cheerful, head north to Iceland’s Arnaldur Indridason. )
Mariagatan: the street where Wallander lives for all of Henning Mankell’s novels except for the final installment ‘The Troubled Man’. It is here that he lives in his dysfunctional bachelor flat, occasionally day dreaming about getting a dog and moving to a better life by the sea. (Image by HWL)
Would-be Wallanders should watch out for Polish ferries, there could be anything on board. Contraband, people smugglers, serial killers and duty free vodka; just about anything can be found in Ystad Harbour. (Image by HWL)
Last year the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan held an exhibition of Ai WeiWei’s work entitled ‘Absent’ referencing the artist’s detention by the Chinese authorities and his subsequent inability to attend his own show. ‘Ai Weiwei: Interlacing’ currently showing at the Jeu de Paume, in Paris, acts as a retrospective of the artist’s work which, in his continued absence, verges on a memorial. It creates a portrait of an artist as strong as he is fragile; as mischievous as he is serious; as alive as he is mortal.
Disobey!: Stencil art of the artist Ai Weiwei spotted in Lyon, France, during the artist’s detention. (Image by HWL)
A solo show at the Jeu de Paume is the highest accolade Paris can grant to a photographer. In this context, the show is a bit of a stretch, not only does this multi-faceted artist not fit in to the narrow category of the art form but photography – let’s face it – is not his strongest suite. As an artist, blogger and ‘Twitterer’ Ai is a prolific photographer; he uses the medium to document (and share) the ephemera of daily life (meals eaten, art works in creation, travels taken etc) and as a means of documenting the process or outcome of his work. Photography provides the ‘interlacing’ between his many projects and media; in this sense the show reminds us of the power of this medium to bear witness. Case in point: Ai was repeatedly invited by the authorities to construct a studio in Shanghai. Finally, he concedes but as soon as the building is completed, it is declared illegal. The building is torn down, all evidence of the site is removed and finally the field is ploughed-up and returned to farm land. The only evidence of this studio ever being part of reality (as opposed to a Kafkaesque nightmare) are Ai’s photographs.
Istanbul: an east-meets-west mixed tape that splices the grandeur of Paris and the madness of NYC via a Bangkok traffic jam and a late night kebab. Click through to read about our Perfect Day in H’ipstanbul. (Image by HWL)
Wow, we’re not even sure how that happened. This blog started out as a way of writing about places we’d been, places we stayed and cool things we saw along the way…For our 100th post, we got to thinking about our art and travel highlights…Click on the pictures to go through to the original story. Thanks to everyone who has read this blog, followed this blog, contributed to this blog, befriended us on Facebook or just stumbled across it randomly while looking for something weird (to the person who – bizarrely – came to us after Googling ‘portable sex swing’, we hope you eventually found what you were looking for, albeit elsewhere).
With love from us,
X
An icon of modernist architecture, the Hotel Le Corbusier is just one of the drawcards for Marseille…other lures being the calanques, French rap, bouillabaisse and a sense of underlying anarchy… Our review of one of the world’s great hotels. (Image by HWL)
For reasons obscure & too lengthy to go into, we ended up at the graffiti event Meeting of Styles in Chicago. We love the windy city for its unique combination of great architecture and very, very friendly folk. (Image by HWL)
We will Rock You: Our room at The Ace in New York City had its own guitar & record player. Click through for more pics of this hipster hotel of the moment. (Drawing by HWL)
We got along to the FAME graffiti festival in Grottaglie, a working town in Puglia, Italy that lures the Graffiti A-List with the promise of blank walls. Our suggested itinerary combines stumbling around in abandoned semi-industrial zones and swanning around the coast in search of fine eats. Mural by Nunca. (Image by HWL)
The Urbn Hotel in Shanghai was our favourite hotel of 2011; in a city of dystopian skyscrapers it offers a slice of life on a human scale. Click through for our review.(Image by HWL)
We’ve seen a lot of great art over the last few years…but this recent show by Danish & French yarn bombing types was a highlight. The Knitted Stag is by French artists Art Oriente Objet. (Image by HWL)
The Krafft Hotel in Basel, Switzerland, must be one of the loveliest places we’ve ever stayed: warm, elegant, cosy, classic. Help yourself to a cup of tea and watch the green watery folds of the Rhine wash by. (Drawing by HWL)
We were lucky enough to score an invite to a show of revolutionary artists organised by the French Embassy in Tunis. Tunisia kicked-started the then- Arab Spring & was the first to hold democratic elections. Being there we sensed two conflicting emotions: hope and resignation. The Made in Tunisia series by photographer Hichem Driss’ hints at a complex populace…Click through to read the story.
A pocket of Moorish-flavoured wonder that is Seville, Spain. When the mercury hit 40 degrees (that’s 104 to the luddites), the traditional ice-creams at Heladeria Artesana La Fiorentina really came into their own.
Arles! A small Roman town in the South of France, beloved by bullfighters, Hemingway and Christian Lacroix… Every summer it hosts Les Rencontres d’Arles, a veritable Kir Royale that combines the biggest names in photography and delightfully relaxed sightseeing…(providing you don’t visit in the opening week!). The Real Story of Superheros by Mexican-born, NYC-based photographer Paulino Cardozo, featured in 2011. Click through to our review.
Napoli: While Rome burns, Naples crumbles. We loved its fading beauty, pert volcanoes, fantastic food and lovely, lovely people. Happily, we don’t live there given their sporadic garbage collection problem. (Image by HWL)
We can dream, can’t we? In our future lives when we morph, butterfly-like, into fully-fledged artists, we’ll be applying here… The Fogo Island Artist Residency, in the Shipping News territory of Newfoundland, Canada. The artist studios were designed by Canadian-born, Norway-based architect Todd Saunders; a hotel is on its way.
Our perfect day in Shanghai revolves around a couple of great coffee stops, an arty jaunt, a local quirk or two and a place to debrief over drinks and perhaps carry on into the night. Join the dots…
COFFEE: What looks like a short stroll on a Shanghai street map often turns out to be a long and charmless polluted slog punctuated by construction sites …for this reason; we suggest that all outings should encompass a coffee stop either for refuelling or as a goal of its own right.
Stormy Cafe: An indie slice of counter-Shanghai this tiny joint is possibly our favourite cafe-slash-bar in the city. We chilled out to Bob Marley, met a friendly dog and observed an interesting series of people coming in and out with intriguing props. (Or maybe that’s just the absinthe talking?) A laid-back, if grungy, port in the storm. (Lane 229, No 1 Danshui Rd, nr Fuxing Rd.)
Indie port in a storm, Shanghai (Image by HWL)
Q’s Coffee: Yunnan coffee, sweet treats and Wi-Fi situated in a tiny wooden cabin with a big glass front in the old school maze that is the trendy shopping zone of Taikang Lu’s Tianzifang. If you’re no good at map reading, just walk around and around in circles until you stumble onto it. (15, Lane 155, Jian Guo Zhong Lu.)
Amokka Cafe: This French Concession cafe knows its way around a coffee machine and offers decent lunch bits – sandwiches, soup, risotto etc – at reasonable prices. The more atmospheric second floor has a very chilled Scandi-Asiatic vibe. Take advantage of the free Wi-Fi. (Next door you’ll find bread and assorted take-out baked treats at the Antipodeon style Baker & Spice, 195 Anfu Lu.)
Running Amok(kka) in Shanghai (Image by HWL)
Citizen Cafe: Judging by the crowd this French Concession cafe strikes a chord with foreign freelance types who come to hunker down over lattes and laptops, dreams and schemes. We like the Citizen Cafe for its good coffee, cheerful service, cosy ambiance and Euro-friendly edibles. The small yet more-ish pesto pasta is a fail-safe choice if you’ve overdosed on dumplings.
Embrace comrades in arms at the Citizen Cafe, Shanghai (Image by HWL)
ART:
Rockbund Art Museum (RAM): Shanghai’s first private art museum in a historic building on the Bund was recently given a revamp by British architect David Chipperfield. In our view, the museum is the most likely of the city’s institutions to put on a reliably good show. While you’re in the hood, you may like to check out the high calibre commercial galleries nearby such as Shanghai Gallery of Art (at 3 on the Bund) and 18 Gallery at Bund 18.
"At 70 I could follow my heart's desire without overstepping the line," an older, wiser (and more hairy) Confucius as imagined by artist Zhang Huan, at Rock Bund Museum (Image by HWL)
M50 (50 Moganshan Rd, Shanghai) is Shanghai’s response to Beijing’s more famous Factory 798, it is comprised of dozens of galleries and artist studios scattered around a series of dimly lit and circuitous warehouses in a disused mill that, so far, has escaped development. (Digression: While bad art is not exclusive to Shanghai, it must be said that with so much material to work with, it seems especially easy to create bad art work in this city… If you want to DIY your own crappy art follow this simple recipe: take a handful of Mao and a dash of cash, add pop colours, and stir. If you are feeling adventurous, whack in a military theme as well. All this to say that, the quality of the art on display can be hit and miss.)
Party of One: M50 art enclave Shanghai (Image by HWL)
Brighten up: cool lights, warehouse ambiance at M50 Shanghai (Image by HWL)
On a positive note, galleries we liked include: Gallery55s and the oddly named Brut Cake specialising in ceramics, recycled homewares and gifts; the rather obscure Dearco, OV Gallery, the photography gallery M97 the Island 6 Collective and M50 veteran Eastlink. It’s also worth browsing the M50 In Out Shop (105-1, Blg 3, 50 Moganshan Rd) for arty tomes, including souvenir-friendly publications like Wrinkles of the City: Shanghai by French street artist J.R (see video at top of post) and Phantom Shanghai by photographer Greg Girard (see below).
MoCA: Situated in Renmim Park, the programming here can be hit and miss, but it’s worth seeing what’s on, if only to gauge the temperature of Shanghai’s art scene. Plus it’ll give you an excuse to meander around the park where you are likely to be amused by various people doing unusual things. (The average Shanghai apartment is on the small side so locals head to the parks to do tai chi, practise a loud brass musical instrument, work through a new ballroom dancing step, fly a kite or cast a rod into an ornamental water feature. On weekends parents with unmarried kids set up impromptu stalls where they advertise their offspring in a sort of marriage market.) After a dose of art and some good old-fashioned people watching in the park, take a coffee stop at Barbarossa. This cafe has lovely views onto ponds and landscaped greenery and an eclectic menu; light dishes we enjoyed here include the Hainanese chicken rice and the Moroccan-style orange cake. Note: the Shanghai Art Museum is free and also within the park’s confines, however, we struggle to really recommend it…but the gallery cafe Kathleen’s 5 does offer an amazing view over the city.
Barabossa cafe: mean cuppa coffee, lovely water view (Image by HWL)
Who goes there? Renmin Park: beware of pyjama-wearing tai-chi-ers popping out from behind the bushes (Image by HWL)
SHANGHAI-IST DRIFT:
The French Concession evokes images of colonial buildings, faded grandeur and avenues lined with plane trees…but the reality is a little more prosaic. Still, this is certainly the best enclave for eating, drinking and shopping on a more human scale. Shops we quite liked included: the eco-aware Urban Tribe – their sweet pleated scarves and interesting ceramics make for reasonably priced souvenirs/gifts; Mayumi Sato for quirky girl cashmere sweaters and Japanese tailored lovelies and the rather more upmarket Initial Fashion for their interesting, artsy collection. For a custom cobbler, locals recommend Yanye Handmade Shoes, but note that an order takes 2-4 weeks to complete (1363 Fuxing Zhong Lu, by Baoqing Lu 复兴中路1363号，近宝庆路 Tel: 131 6270 5506). Reading materials: you’ll find foreign language books at the rather ordinary Garden Books but we suggest 1984 for coffee, overall underground ambiance and lazing cats (the black gate is always closed, so don’t panic, you will be let in).
Yu (hoo) gardens.... (Image by HWL)
TOURISTIC VENTURES:
Yu Gardens: Shanghai is a city of 23 million people and zero touristic blockbusters – there, we’ve said it. If you’d like to dip into some ye olde worlde Shanghai try the 16th century Yu Gardens. (Here we score zero points for originality.) It is less of a garden and more a complex of pavilions and temples cunningly formed around rockeries, water features and bridges designed to replicate mountains, lakes etc. Carp abound. The whole get-up seems made for the amateur photographer and if you are so foolish to visit on the weekend, you will need to battle it out with thousands for a viewpoint. Nb: claustrophobes should avoid the surrounding (and somewhat ghastly) Yu Bazaar as much as poss. – it is packed. Afterwards, reflect on the inter-balance of the elements (light and shadow, water and stone), over tea on the top floor of the Old Shanghai Teahouse (385 Middle Fangbang Rd), which is charming despite its overt touristyness.
This photo is of no consequence: we just like it. Somewhere near West Fangbang Rd. (Image by HWL)
Bird & Insect Market: Is there anything better than standing around comparing the size and thrust of one’s own cricket? If you’re ever dreamt of owning your own stable here’s your chance to collect a collection of fighting grasshoppers and all the necessary accoutrements. Afterwards, meander around the surrounding laneways and sniff out some fragments of old Shanghai. (South Xizang Rd, nr West Fangbang Rd.)
Hutong & bike near the bird & insect market, Shanghai
Taikang Lu’s Tianzifang: a self-consciously preserved enclave of laneway shop houses that nonetheless make for enjoyable exploration. A kind of one stop shop for eating/drinking/shopping and last minute snaffling of souvenirs. In addition to Q’s Coffee mentioned above, we like Cafe Dan for coffee and basic Japanese food in atmospheric digs at the top of a long rickety set of stairs.
DRINK?: Don’t mind if we do…
Mint: Glam and lofty It bar Mint is has an amazing view over Shanghai and is popular with the usual suspects. Dress hot for the bouncers and, assuming you get in, keep your eyes peeled for faux bi-curious models dancing on the bar, but steer clear of disillusioned ex-pat architects washed up from Dubai.
A crappy day can't hide the overall weirdness of Shanghai's skyline, best enjoyed over drinks & up high... (Image by HWL)
Cloud Nine: We’re not fans of the chain hotel, but Cloud Nine bar on the 87th floor at the Hyatt offers a brilliant view of the Bund skyline. Mix it with a (pretty reasonably priced) cocktail and drink it in, but don’t come for the crowd. Note that Andreas Gursky aficionados may recognise the atrium.
And now for something a little bit different: Also check out the chilled Japanese sochu bar Mokkos; Southern Cross for a quiet cocktail – BYO crowd; or the French wine bar Le Cafe des Stagiaires for a cosy verre de rouge.
'The Last Supper' by David Lachapelle from his 'Jesus is my Homeboy' series. Now showing @ La Masion Rouge, Paris.
You can always count on the Maison Rouge, in Paris, for something best described as a headf**k and their current show is no exception. Any curatorial bent that throws Pieter Bruegel, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Robert Capa and Cindy Sherman into the same room is fine by us. If you’re feeling a tad blasé over the whole vanitas revival-slash-taxidermy thang, think again.
Before the Chapman Brothers, there was Bruegel.'Pride', by Pieter Bruegel Elder from the Seven Deadly Sins series, on show La Maison Rouge, Paris
La Maison Rouge in Paris is consistently one of the city’s most interesting galleries, sitting somewhere between the big public blockbusters and the commercial scene, the Foundation reinvents itself for every new show. Memoires de Futur is drawn from the collection of Thomas Olbricht, a German collector of ‘curiosity cabinets’ and art old and new. The show pitches traditional art against the contemporary grouped around themes of death, religion, and a bit of sex for good measure. In short: a crowd pleaser guaranteed to disturb just about everyone.
Camp, kitsch & beautiful: The White Queen by French photographic duo Pierre et Gilles, now showing @ La Maison Rouge
Eerie swans and ropey forms of feathers: one of the works by British artist Kate MccGwire's currently showing at La Maison Rouge, Paris
Details: Mémoires du Futur, la collection Olbricht continues until January 15, 2012. For information & opening hours: La Maison Rouge.
“How long have you been waiting to vote?” I asked. The answer was irresistible. “Forty years,” someone said. “Who do you think will win the election?” I asked another voter. “Sir,” he said, “we will all win. We are voting freely for the first time. It means we have already won.”
—Extract Allan Little for BBC News (see full story)
Last Sunday Tunisia voted in its first ever free elections, with citizens choosing from a whopping 110 political candidates on the ballot paper. Eligible voter turn-out was high at 90% (thanks in part to clever voter registration campaigns like this one.) The verdict is in. The moderate Islamist party Ennahda came out ahead, but probably won’t be able to rule on their own and talks have begun with the moderate secular parties Congress for the Republic (CPR) and Ettakatol. The vote comes ten months after President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was bought down by protests triggered by public outrage over the self-immolation of a young, unemployed fruit seller, Mohammed Bouazizi, which ultimately kick-started the Arab Spring – now spreading into Autumn.
Out with the Old: parties close to the old regime performed worst in the recent Tunisian elections (Image by HWL)
Will this newly elected government add up to what the youthful Facebook generation revolutionaries were hoping for? On our recent trip to Tunisia, optimism was muted. I guess only time will tell… In the meantime, those wishing to ruminate on the revolutionary spirit of Tunisian artists can head to the Art Tunis Paris exhibition featuring 30 young(ish) Tunisian artists that opened at the Ambassade de France in Tunis in September and is now being followed up in Paris at the Musée du Montparnasse.
While the exhibition wasn’t entirely to our taste, the art is nonethless interesting as a historical document of this extraordinary time. (French speakers can hear the artists explain their work, motivations and feelings about the revolution in this film created for the exhibition.) We loved Wassim Ghozlani‘s photographs of burned out and tagged post-revolutionary cars; an explosive moment in an otherwise largely peaceful revolution. (Aside: the revolution provided loads of interesting street photography moments and you can peruse Ghozlani’s attempts to capture the moment and diversity of the protesters here.) Photographer Hichem Driss‘s work also struck a chord with his hip-hop aesthetic. His series Erreur 404 aims to document the diversity of Tunisians of all persuasions: colour, gender, sexual preference, class, religion and ethnicity. Will they get the representation that they deserve? In the struggle to create a new democratic system for Tunisia, Driss’ portraits are a reminder of the diversity and complexity of his nation’s citizenry.
Around the same time the Tunisian artists were attending the opening in Paris, some of their compatriots were busy rioting down by the local television station to protest against the screening of Persepolis, an award-winning animated film based on the memoirs of Marjane Satrapi. At issue, a scene where the young Marjane is talking to God as he imagines him: depicting God is a violation of Islamic doctrine. (As is depicting humans or even animals: hence the Islamic world’s tradition of using non-figurative geometric mosaics etc in decorative arts and architecture.) The film had screened previously in Tunisia without incident, though this is the first time the film had been dubbed into the local Tunisian dialect and the content of the film (how fundamentalist Islamisists hi-jacked the youthful, liberal Iranian revolution and created a dictatorship) was obviously pressing a few buttons.
Be uprising: Ghazi Frini's video art installation at the Ambassade de France, for Art Tunis Paris.
The two contrasting scenarios – on one hand, young artists celebrating their personal creativity and freedom of expression in Paris, on the other, angry fundamentalists running wild and advocating censorship, reminds us of what we already know: democracy entails trying to get along with people you don’t agree with. It’s not easy. Good luck Tunisia. We leave with a sort of action video extracted from Marjane Satrapi’s film Persepolis, one day it will be Iran’s turn again.
Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past You must fight just to keep them alive…
Just a little prick: outsider artist Francis Marshall at Slick art fair in Paris (Image by HWL)
Visitors to Paris this week will find the city mid-art explosion. The largest contemporary art fair FIAC is on, plus dozens of related ‘off-events’. If you were to visit just one, we suggest SLICK. Admittedly, we haven’t yet been to FIAC – we have unwisely opted to wait until the weekend so we can enjoy the art with the maximum amount of unpleasant crowding – nonetheless, we know how these things work. Pricey ticket, enormous expanse of art works, zillions of people and a sense of impending panic/collapse bought about by the combination of disorientation/claustrophobia/fear of over-sized handbags and lack of water/oxygen.
You poor dear. Recalling early cinematic trauma. 'Accident de Chasse - Bambi' (Hunting Accident) by Pascal Bernier. Selling for almost €10, 000, significantly more than the poor thing would have fetched by the kilo. Sad when you are worth more dead (and stuffed) than alive. (Image by HWL)
Digging among the small change and handing over €10 will get you into Slick, best described as FIAC’s hipster offspring, situated in the forecourt of the tres cool Palais de Tokyo. In return you’ll enjoy a solid hour or so of overall pretty good art. There’s more quality than quantity, so not only can you see it all, you can also probably enjoy it. We have collected a few highlights for your perusal. Keep an eye out for them! (Hover on photos for the names of each artist/gallery.)
159/295: detail of beautiful flying kites & red threads. A lovely work at the entry of Slick, you can't miss it. (Image by HWL)
Poetic offerings by Pierre Tilman. Poems created in the early 80's using a Dyno label make was also on display - cutting edge technology at the time! (Image by HWL)
Spooky David Lynch-like vignettes by Francis Marshall. Mysterious and evocative, we rate this our favourite installation. (Image by HWL)
More Hilton than Paris. (Image by HWL)
One of Gorlizki's strange melding of slightly absurd yet terribly dainty collages in the tradition of Indian miniatures. We were also charmed by the gallerist Franz van der Grinten. Do say hello to him - or pop into the gallery in Cologne.
And now for something a little bit gimmicky. Pop art stars vs limited edition, rather pricey skateboards by the likes of Hirst, merchandising genius Takashi Murakami, and graffiti upstarts like D*Face. (Image by HWL)
Kenosha Theater, Kenosha, US, 2009 by Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre. We loved their large format photographic series of decrepit theatres in American towns such as Chicago & Detroit. (Image by Marchand & Meffre)
A timely installation by Robert Montgomery in this season of Arab Spring...
Ready, Aim, Fire! Horsing around in Arles (Image by HWL)
Few photographic expos incite excitement like Les Rencontres d’Arles…the heavyweight of Europe’s photographic scene. It’s not too late to catch the final weeks of the 2011 show – or too early to start thinking about 2012… So here are two great accommodation ideas (listed in order of budget). If you are intending to visit Arles during the opening week of the exhibition book accommodation way in advance – and keep in mind that the atmosphere will be buzzy with a distinctly work vibe with a frantic flurry of blackberrying and i-phoning and restaurants booked out. Outside of this a more chilled atmos.will prevail.
LA MAISON D’ARLES
Run by a young and extremely energetic, er, podiatrist (!) La Maison d’Arles is a four bedroom B&B in an old Hotel Particulaire in the centre of Arles. (Stick your head out the window far enough and you’ll see the city’s impressive Roman Amphitheatre at the end of the street.)
Kate Moss reflected in the breakfast room at La Maison D'Arles (Image by HWL)
B&B’s are a balancing act, with a less than welcoming host it’s all too easy to feel like a space invader. But Sabrina, the host of La Maison d’Arles, is so easy-going and friendly that you quickly feel at home. The house has been recently renovated and while the make-over is incredibly modern, the house retains the essence of its historic appeal in details, such as mosaic tile flooring, and its timeless and elegant proportions. Each room is stylishly decked out with sparkling new bathrooms; in several instances, these are hidden from view with sheer curtains enabling a degree but not total privacy.
Breezy with lovely terracotta tile flooring: 'Chambre Caramel' at La Maison d'Arles B&B There's also an old-fashioned fireplace out of view. (Image by HWL)
One of the real pluses of this place are the communal spaces – an outdoor sitting area in the terrace garden downstairs, a good-sized balcony for breakfasting plus an indoor lounge and dining area. There’s none of that excruciating B&B palava involving rigid and early breakfast times with the ‘Man of the House’ in a novelty apron asking how you’d like your eggs against a backdrop of cheesy classical music and awkward breakfast conversation with fellow-guests before you’ve woken-up. Instead, a French-style breakfast is laid out until noon – just serve yourself (you can take it back to bed on a tray if you like). During the day you can also help yourself to drinks from the fridge and the coffee machine – a welcome innovation in a French B&B where access to hot caffeinated beverages is not usually the norm.
Breakfast till noon @ La Maison d'Arles (Image by HWL)
Sabrina also lets out an additional five rooms in the equally lovely Hotel Particulaire next door. It has a small but perfectly adequate swimming pool for cooling off in the summer months, an elegant lounging area and offers kitchen access. If you are travelling in a group you may be able to rent out the whole house.
Stairwell; egg-blue shutters on the facade; & terrace view from masionette @ La Maison d'Arles. (Image by HWL)
Tips: ‘Reglisse’ is the smallest and cheapest room in the house but be warned that it adjoins the lounge and terrace – not recommended for light sleepers travelling without ear plugs. If the swimming pool is a must, request a room in that house or confirm access to it at the time of booking (usually it is open to all guests). There’s a tiny house at the end of the garden with a small bedroom upstairs (‘Guimauve’) and a tiny kitchen downstairs with a private garden area – this is a good option if you’re intending to cook during a longer stay, but be warned that the stairs to the bedroom are perilous (!) and storage is almost non-existent.
Room to Improve: Clothes/luggage storage is a bit on the minimalist end – even light packers will struggle to store to put their things away!
Rates: depending on room and season, approx €50–€100.
Back in the day this atmospheric hotel in the heart of Arles was the kind of joint where you could expect to run into Jean Cocteau mooning over the dreamy toreador, Dominguin, who in turn was bedding fellow-guest Ava Gardner. (Doh!) Throw in Hemingway, Picasso, Piaf and the usual suspects and well; you know the drill – testosterone, booze and sequins flying. (And that’s just the matadors.)
The cosy lobby bar opens onto the busy Place du Forum in Arles. (Image by HWL)
This historic address (formerly owned by a clown, and most famously by former cabaret singer known as Germaine) used to be the hotel of choice for toreadors who came (and still do) to take their turn in the Roman amphitheatre-turned-bullfighting ring of Arles. Since its artful renovation in 1989 it continues to lure an artistic-slash-glitterati crowd and is a favourite with local-lad-made-good Christian Lacroix. (Obviously the occasional weighty tourist bemusingly decked out in multi-pocketed camouflage and over-sized camera may also be in-situ. Hey, nothing is perfect!)
Patina meets photographic heritage @ Hotel Nord-Pinus, Arles
The hotel’s decor is one of a kind – downstairs the lobby has a gentlemen’s lounge feel with a dash of Moroccan spice, vintage bullfighting posters, and evocative black and white wildlife photography by the environmentally inclined Peter Beard. Each room varies in decoration, what you can be sure of is an element of surprise and a unique aesthetic that creates the right balance of beauty and eccentricity.
Exquisite flamboyance: dream of Napoleon & matadors. Rm 10, Hotel Nord-Pinus, Arles. Its corner balcony is a great spot to take a bow.
Bullfighters traditionally slept in room 10, as did Napoleon, a room so flamboyantly exquisite we could have cried. (Pictured above.) Strangely enough, it also has two beds, convenient if you have a lover’s spat in the middle of the night – or get extra lucky.
A more modernist make-over, also on offer at Hotel Nord-Pinus, Arles
If you are somebody who judges a hotel according to the size of its plasma screen the Hotel Nord-Pinus is not for you. But if you like your glamour with a worn-in patina, a hint of by-gone glory then give it a try but be prepared for an all-out seduction of the senses and the possibility of encountering the larger-than-life character that is owner Anne Igou. Our verdict: Genius.
Tips: The basic rooms are smaller and simpler but still perfectly adequate. The Place du Forum is tourist central so don’t expect to have it to yourself, and if your windows are open you’ll certainly hear nosie from the diners downstairs. Breakfast isn’t a bargain, but there are loads of alternative cafes on your doorstop that’ll do you a cafe au lait.
Rates: depending on room and season, approx €145–€300.
A whisper of Marrakech in the stairwell @ Hotel Nord-Pinus, Arles (Image by HWL)
Get into the mood: He [the matador] must have a spiritual enjoyment of the moment of killing. Killing cleanly and in a way which gives you aesthetic pleasure and pride has always been one of the greatest enjoyments of a part of the human race,” – the world according to an intense (and arguably peculiar) Hemingway in Death in the Afternoon. Dip into Hemingway’s weighty tome on bullfighting in the lobby bar of the Hotel Nord-Pinus…
Shazam! The Real Story of Superheros by photographer Paulino Cardozo, on show in Arles 2011.
Home to Europe’s most high profile photographic expo, an impressive scattering of Roman ruins, and a goodly number of gastronomic haunts, UNESCO-heritage listed Arles packs a punch that belies its cartographic impact. And as the famed photography festival, Les Rencontres d’Arles 2011, reaches its final month, visitors can enjoy the show – dispersed in exhibition spaces across the city – minus the frenzy of the opening weeks and the crush of summer tourists.
This year’s show, which puts a spotlight on the work of Mexican photographers, also provided a timely reminder of the relationship and relevance of photography to political upheaval and revolution – from recently unearthed negatives (‘The Capa Suitcase’) of the Spanish Civil War by legendary photographers Robert Capa, Chim (aka David Seymour) and Gerda Taro to digital images taken at the recent Tunisian uprising that kicked-off the so-called Arab Spring.
Screen magic: film sequence by Gabriel Figueroa at Les Recontres d'Arles, 2011. (Image by HWL)
For us, the exhibition devoted to Gabriel Figueroa (1907-1997) was the surprise stand-out hit. Figueroa, a Mexican cinematographer to directors including John Ford, Luis Buñuel and John Huston may not be a photographer in the strictest sense but there is no denying his masterful eye. This multi-screened video installation in the atmospheric Eglise des Frères Prêcheurs church, features skilfully edited extracts of his career spanning 50 years of Mexican cinema. Full credit must go to curator Alfonso Morales for his selection and treatment of Figueroa’s sumptuous and amazingly diverse images grouped thematically eg: religion, death, film noir. Shot largely in black and white these cinemagraphic-tasters are a treasure trove of Mexican imagery. Each film, composed from multiple sources, creates a surreal sort of narrative but seen en masse, odd couplings emerge – a grim and hairy Jesus suffering in the desert plays adjacent to an apparently frenzied cannibal king playing the drums. All up an apt love letter to the poetic weirdness of this dream-world we call film and a master of the trade.
Sebastião Salgado's oil fields in Kuwait, on display at Les Recontres d'Arles, 2011.
Another highlight was the rather unimaginatively titled if immaculately branded headliner show New York Times Magazine Photographs.Curated by its chief photo editorKathy Ryan, the exhibition encompasses an emotional rollercoaster of subject matter that included portraiture, reportage and fine art on topics ranging from the September 11 attacks and the current war in Afghanistan to Sebastião Salgado’s documentiation of Kuwait oil fields and Nan Goldin’s intimate portraits of James King, a then 16-year-old super model. The show also highlights the production process, a seemingly dry concept which proved surprisingly engaging in execution, encompassing editorial briefs, the photographer’s impressions and ambitions, writer/photographer working relationships and the hazards and challenges of the field, whether seducing celebrities or surviving as an embedded war photographer.
Wang Quinsong's The History of Monuments installed at Eglise Trinitaire, Arles 2011. (Image by HWL)
A roll of Kodak paper is 1.25 x 42 meters and Chinese artist Wang Quinsong used the whole 42 metre metres to create The History of Monuments that is impressively installed in the Eglise Trinitaire. Writing about the work on his website, Quinsong says: “Actually I don’t care about history. I am only interested in the extreme length of a photo. If there is a 100-meter-long photo paper, I will be able to put in a lot more “valuable” stuff and create a 100-meter long photo. The historical figures and contents in this photo work are not that important. …I put in some famous people recorded in the official history of many civilizations, and also some small potatoes in the unofficial history. There is a lot of rubbish as well as some useful daily goods.” Do stay to watch the short film documenting the creation process of its creation which included covering 200 nude photographic models entirely in mud.
Pineapples and epaulettes were included in the 'small potatoes of history'. Detail of Wang Quinsong's Monuments of History, Arles, 2011. (Image by HWL)
In the group show at Atelier Des Forges, we were touched by Maya Goded’s heartrending slide show Welcome to Lipstick, documenting small town prostitutes in the red light zone bordering Mexico and the US; and intrigued by her otherworldly series Land of Witches, detailing women, witchcraft and ritual in rural Mexico.
Beguiling: Land of Witches series by Mexican photographer Maya Goded, showing at Arles, 2011.
On an upbeat note, we loved Dulce Pinzon’s The Real Story of Superheros, (pictured top) a warm, humorous and touching testimony to Mexico’s unsung ‘champions’ who undertake difficult and often badly paid jobs in the US in order to support their family’s back home while helping to keep the US economy running. Finally, as you walk around town, keep your eyes peeled for evidence of photographer/street artist JR. Would-be participants for JR’s TED Prize-winning Use Art to Turn the World Inside Out project can queue to have their photos taken at the photo-booth in the Forge des Ateliers. In all, the annual Les Recontres d’Arles is a great excuse to pack a long lens and head to Provence. Stay tuned for our accommodation and eating tips – coming up next!
Listening for that Hassleblad 'clunk' sound that signals the photo has been taken. (As documented by an i-phone!)
A while back we were taken up with the idea of buying a Hasselblad. These iconic cameras don’t come cheap and it took quite a bit of patient E-Bay-ing before we managed to snaffle one in our price range. The camera in question came from a retiring portrait photographer in Texas and turned up, lovingly wrapped, with a number of interesting accessories. After years of using digital cameras, looking through a filmic lens of this calibre was a revelation. Shortly after it arrived, we took it to Sweden. (Which funnily enough where the cameras were first made.)
Many months later, we finally had the prints developed! (OK, so we’re spear-heading a sort of ‘slow photography’ movement.) The light metre in the camera didn’t work and the film – which was an out-of-date gift from a photographer friend in Pau – was going to be a surprise in any case. (It was fun to open up an envelope of processed film and wonder what was inside.) Needless to say, there was a high casualty rate! That said, the enjoyment of taking the photographs and a couple of successes were good enough for us. At least, to begin with. Here’s three that turned out. For all their shortcomings I think they convey something of the atmosphere of a Småland lake on a summer afternoon. (You can see a review of where we stayed here.) But this summer, we’re definitely buying a light metre!
A bike rests against a birch, low-fi transport choice for an afternoon's swim. The best things in life are free... (Image by HWL)
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Still lake, soft afternoon light, a whisper of purple and a small birch. (Image by HWL)
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As the day drew on, swimmers disappeared indoors. I love the stillness of the lake though here you start to detect the shortcomings of old-style photography without a light metre! (Image by HWL)
