Keeping Tabs: Winding down for Christmas
Galleries galore, a new podcast and an interview
I’ve been rushing around seeing many exhibitions before everything shuts down for Christmas and galleries hibernate for the festive season. There’s still plenty to see and read in case you want an arty break from Christmas parties and shopping:
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.
Looking for exhibitions to catch before Christmas? I’ve got you covered with my latest top 5 on FAD.
We spoke to Jana Winderen about creating art soundscapes, including one currently on at the Natural History Museum.
Plus, catch up on my recent diary entries, interviews and more:
In our latest inspired by London series, we take to the sky with Michael Wallner
The latest Diary of a London Art Critic covering London to Bilbao and back again
Read about Gayle Chong Kwan and her ‘River Guardians’ at the Science Gallery 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!
Tab’s Weeks Ahead
Highlighting my top events for the weeks ahead. Let me know if you'd like to join me!
My Saturday plans aren't fixed yet, but I’ll be aiming to visit White Conduit Projects to see their two exhibitions. All are welcome to join me, just drop me a line (or DM me on Substack) and I'll share the full itinerary with you so you can drop in at any point throughout the day.
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.
GRISLY PODCASTS: The Human Subject examines how unethical experiments advanced science and medicine. Geneticist Adam Rutherford and criminal psychologist Julia Shaw present it. I came across Julia on her Bad People podcast, which is also back for a new season with a new co-host. Both are on BBC Sounds.
DOCUMENTARY SERIES: Solar System is an excellent look at the planets and moons in our solar system narrated brilliantly as always by Brian Cox. I’d also recommend Cox’s other series ‘Universe’. Both on iPlayer.
ABSURDIST FILMS: Kinds of Kindness is a trio of three short films that involve cannibalism, delusion and control. As it’s directed by Yorgos Lanthinos it’s guaranteed to be weird and it certainly delivers on that front with the core cast playing different characters in each film. Though it’s not as strong as his excellent film Poor Things. Both on Disney+.
Articles I’m Reading
Interesting stories that I recommend, largely from beyond the art world. If you fancy reading offline at another time, I recommend the app Pocket.
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.
DANGEROUS MISINFORMATION: The Walrus reports that The Multi-Trillion-Dollar Wellness Industry Is Making Us Sick (11-minute read), Mother Jones meets the Influencer Who “Reverses” Lupus—With Smoothies (9 minutes) and Smithsonian Magazine shows us How Snake Oil Became a Symbol of Fraud and Deception (9 minutes). The Economist takes us Inside the Kenyan cult that starved itself to death, in the Master of Make-Believe The New Yorker profiles a Hollywood scammer (39 minutes), Wired reports The Pig Butchering Invasion Has Begun (8 minutes), OpenAI says Russian and Israeli groups used its tools to spread disinformation via The Guardian (3 minutes), The New York Times reports They’re Giving Scammers All Their Money. The Kids Can’t Stop Them (9 minutes), and Lifehacker shares Six Psychological Tricks Scammers Use Against You (7 minutes). To end on a positive ABC reports that These conspiracy theory believers went deep down the rabbit hole — then found a way out (7 minutes).
RELATIONSHIPS: The New Yorker has the read for you if You Think You’ve Been Gaslit (28 minutes), Good Housekeeping shares 35 Subtle Gaslighting Phrases That Are Unfairly Belittling Your Emotions (20 minutes) and Vox worryingly shares How “Divorce him!” became the internet’s de facto relationship advice (9 minutes). Fast company shares How to disagree without making someone defensive (4 minutes), Lifehacker advises How to Actually Stay Calm During an Argument (5 minutes) and The Conversation says to have better disagreements, change your words (5 minutes). This love story involves A Shark Attack and a Terrorist Bombing on Esquire (39 minutes), BBC reveals the reasons humans started kissing (2 minutes) and The Walrus looks at When Your Lover Is a Bot (7 minutes). Finally, The Guardian says if you care about someone, show them – and put away your phone (5 minutes).
POLLUTION & CONTAMINATION: ProPublica Unveils How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe (37 minutes), Smithsonian magazine tells us of The Long, Strange History of Teflon, the Indestructible Product Nothing Seems to Stick to (13 minutes) and Atlas Obscura says The World Is Studded With Artificial Mountains (7 minutes). NPR says you’ll never guess the culprit in a global lead poisoning case (11 minutes) and Vox asks Why is there so much lead in American food? (13 minutes). Time reports A Test Told Me I’m Basically Made of Plastic. You Probably Are Too (7 minutes), an NPR reporter tried to avoid plastic for a week, here’s what she learned (9 minutes), Grist writes on How the recycling symbol lost its meaning (21 minutes) and Wired reports that The Cure for Disposable Plastic Crap Is Here—and It’s Loony (24 minutes).