Keeping Tabs: Between Riga and Provence
Stopping over in London
I’m writing this newsletter in Riga, while covering Riga Art Week - it’s also a city I highly recommend. When this lands in your inboxes, I’ll be back in the UK for two days before heading to Provence and then Paris. After that, I’m looking forward to stopping travelling for a while - it’s fun but exhausting. That doesn’t mean I’ve been neglecting my writing, as this week I have:
Who buys digital art? Find out in my debut article for Lost Art, "New Kids on the Blockchain”
My top five exhibitions to see during London Gallery Weekend
Thanks as always for keeping tabs on me, and have a great week ahead.
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Tab’s World
My latest articles and events for your reading pleasure.
Who buys digital art? Find out in my debut article for Lost Art, "New Kids on the Blockchain”.
Plus, catch up on my recent diary entries, interviews and more:
Read about Hannah Gibson’s joyful art made from recycled glass
We go to Space and beyond in my latest Diary of a London Art Critic
An interview to commemorate 100 years of photo booths and where you can still find them in London
Click below to see all the subscription options, and a big thank you to everybody who’s supporting the newsletter already - couldn’t do it without you!
In my second piece for FAD, I venture into OmenaArt Foundation’s fundraising exhibition in Warsaw.
Tab’s Weeks Ahead
Highlighting my top events for the weeks ahead. Let me know if you'd like to join me!
I’ve got lots of travel plans coming up, including trips to Provence and Paris. If you have any recommendations for those, please let me know!
I’ll launch an exhibition in Provence this month, and I look forward to spending more time in the region. Please join if you’re local. Saturday 7th June, 6-9pm.
The Wider Arts
Here are my top picks of culture that may be enjoyed from the comfort of your home. Paid subscribers have access to my full back catalogue of recommendations.
PHILOSOPHICAL MEMOIR (BOOK): Monsters by Claire Dederer is a fascinating take on how we should deal with monsters in art, whether that be Picasso or Polanski. It's written in the style of a memoir, so the author is wrestling with her conscience, and it drops some great philosophical bombs on what it means to love the work of monsters. The links go to my online bookshop, and you can follow me on Goodreads here.
SUPERHERO SERIES: Daredevil: Born Again is an excellent and gritty continuation of one of my favourite Marvel creations. It’s got great parallels with what’s happening in politics today. On Disney+.
POLITICAL BOOK: We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai recounts powerful stories of women who have been displaced, both Malala's own stories and those of other girls and women across the world, putting human faces to the horrific refugee crisis we're living through. The links go to my online bookshop, and you can follow me on Goodreads here.
Articles I’m Reading
I recommend interesting stories largely from outside the art world. If you fancy reading offline at another time, I recommend the app Instapaper.
This is a selection of articles I found thought-provoking in one way or another; opinions expressed in the articles don’t necessarily reflect my views or those of Londonist. Paid subscribers have access to my full back catalogue of recommendations.
ANIMAL STORIES: Here’s Five Shocking Animal Hybrids That Truly Exist in Nature, From Narlugas to Grolar Bears to Coywolves reports Smithsonian (9 mins) and Atmos is Rewriting the Relationship Between Elephant and Keeper (12 mins). Are any animals truly ‘immortal’? These creatures defy biological time says Popular Science (8 mins) and Undark asks How Much Do Animals Think About Death? (6 mins). BBC explains how wildlife survives after wildfires (10 mins), Vox reveals the startling reason Australia is shooting koalas out of trees from helicopters (4 mins), The Independent asks What can we learn from the animal kingdom’s best parents? (5 mins) and Mental Floss reveals The Surprisingly Controversial Origins of the Easter Bunny (3 mins). David Attenborough reflects on his life at 99 for The Times: ‘I will not see how the story ends’ (14 mins), Vox asks the US government killed nearly 2 million animals last year, why? (5 mins) and the LA Times explains how a woman’s grisly death has inflamed debate over how California manages problem black bears (13 mins). Rolling Stone asks What It's Really Like to Face Off With a Grizzly (9 mins), and in a lighter question, asks primatologists could 100 men beat one gorilla in a fight? (8 mins).
RELATIONSHIPS & FAMILY: BBC investigates Cousin marriage: What new evidence tells us about children's ill health (13 mins), The Londoner offers racism, relationships and an insight into Victorian London (10 mins), and The Guardian writes ‘I’m not interested in someone passive about Gaza’: how views on the war have changed dating in America (8 mins). Popsugar reports on What My College Friendships Taught Me About Socioeconomic Status (6 mins), ABC takes us Inside the life of two sets of identical twins, who now live, work and raise children together (3 mins), and Bustle asks, Are Tradwives Luring Women To The Right? (7 mins). Operation Babylift was an earnest attempt to save children during the fall of Saigon. Decades later, a generation of adoptees wrestles with the aftermath, reports The Verge (15 mins). The New York Times examines "The Surprising Ways That Siblings Shape Our Lives" (28 mins), a topic I can relate to as a younger brother.
ON THE ROAD: The Ringer takes us inside the war against bright headlights - a particular bugbear of mine (24 mins). Gigantic SUVs are a public health threat. Why don’t we treat them like one? Asks Vox (12 mins), Bloomberg asks What Do US Vehicle Regulators Have Against Tiny Cars? (7 mins) and The Atlantic asks Does Anyone Still Hitchhike? Autotrader takes a ride in a self-driving car (4 mins), BBC covers the record-breaking tunnel being built from Denmark to Germany (4 mins) and David Sedaris writes about a humorous road trip home for The New Yorker (19 mins). From the road to the skies, Popular Science reports this $1M flying car can reach speeds of 155 mph (4 mins).