Matrushka

Yayoi Kusama

2009-03-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

I chanced upon an exhibition of hers whilst I was in Sydney. My God she sets my heart on fire! Coincidentally we share a birthday- she would give dear old Yoko Ono a run for her money and is quite possibly the coolest Octogenarian alive.

Her installations had such a visceral impact on me, I found myself being transported to a third dimension made up of garish, bubblegum dreamscapes that are inherently poetic and pure in origin. The inspiration for all her work came from a dried up river bed close to her familial home.

She claimed to have had obsessive thoughts and compulsive tendencies as a child brought on by the physical and emotional abuse she experienced at the hand of her mother. She began to see the world as pixelated and kaleidoscopic perhaps as a way to detach herself from a reality that was oppressive and cruel.

It's Ma Party...

2009-03-30T02:56:00.000-07:00

Gathered my nearest and dearest for some frolicsome high-jinks in aid of my birthday. That clock keeps on ticking, I cannot believe I am officially in my thirties, I swear I was only 21 yesterday.

We dined at Sake No Hana, followed by dance offs at Mahiki. I love you friends, thank you for making my night so special.

Pics courtesy of Shaniqwa Jarvis.

Singapore Sling

2009-03-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

I am in Singapore. The atmosphere today is balmy and dense enough to cradle the delicate scent of last night's tropical shower and dewy Frangipani. The cicadas deliver their nightly recitals diligently and peacocks cackle and coo at one another as if sharing a private joke. There are hundreds here at Sentosa Island, roaming freely, peacocks, peahens and a cavalry of chicks, these birds breed like rabbits. Nico and I have marveled at them daily.

I am still trying to place her, Singapore that is, she is a familiar stranger, perhaps a hearkening back to my childhood spent in Hong Kong, her somewhat older and brassier cousin.

Singapore city is reminiscent of the metropolis dreamt up in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, it is the portal to the South East, a cultural hotpot: brothy, pungent and steaming with deliciousness. The Chinese dominate in terms of population but there is a profound and palpable respect between all the different nationalities in this city. The old and new worlds harmonize with one another. Raffles Hotel, resplendent in its late Victorian architecture still holds its own amongst the fierce and glacial sky scrapers that surround it.

If the food maketh the place then I have found my gastronomic Mecca, the fish head curry at Banana Leaf Apolo in Little India, is sublime, surprisingly fleshy albeit frightening to behold! xx

Land of OZ

2009-03-08T01:08:00.000-08:00

My voyage Down Under is well under way and I have not been disappointed. The cities I have visited so far have been been fascinating and make me question, why oh why I reside in the city of London? Sydney has to be the closest thing to Utopia on this planet. Considering how tender of age a city it is, it exudes an old world glamour that sits so comfortably next to the phallic high rises and boasts two of the most globally iconic man made structures. How can you not be floored when you gaze upon the Sydney Harbour Bridge or the inimitable Opera House? Have also chanced upon an amazing salvage emporium: DOUG UP ON BOURKE STREET, 901 a Bourke St, Waterloo 2017.

Am yet to cuddle a koala or scale the bridge but I shall keep you posted.

My Heart is Yearning ..... Paris is Burning.....

2009-02-19T05:49:00.000-08:00

Je suis fous de Paris!!! Stayed in a gorgeous boutique hotel in the Sixieme. I have visited this city countless times and yet each time I visit I am bowled over by the magic of it all and become a born again Paris virgin. Equally happy wolfing down hearty Algerian fayre at Le Martel in Chateau d'eau as I am sipping Kirs at Costes: this sublime tension of opposites is what makes this city so beautiful for me.

My favourite haunts in the city are:

Bar Croix Rouge in St Germain for mid morning open top camembert sandwiches and champagne.

The Catacombs, utterly terrifying and claustrophobic but an adrenalin kick nonetheless - 1, Avenue Henri Roi- Tanguy

La Coupole on Avenue Montparnasse for a multi tiered fruits de mer experience.

Azzedine Alaia for everything 7, Rue de Moussy

Tombees du Camions on Rue d'Abbesses in Montmatre for dismembered Dolly heads, plastic jewellery and other useless yet beautiful epehemera.

Astier de Villatte on Rue St Honore sells exquisite crockery and other maison objets.

Porte de Vanves on a Sunday morning - the best flea market in Paris for a lightweight ferret and a rummage.

My Costume of the day....

2009-02-09T02:47:00.000-08:00

This week I have set my heart on acquiring a few pieces of Rick Owens. I have invested in a washed leather biker jacket, a signature piece from his current collection and a ribbed tank top/dress or three and of course the jersey harem pants, this will make up the best part of my interseasonal uniform, can't wait to wear the jacket with a diaphanous vintage Ozzie Clarke number or an oversized tee-shirt dress by Richard Nicoll.

D.I.Y

2009-02-05T02:07:00.000-08:00

When I'm in New York I always stay at the Bowery Hotel, perhaps the loveliest hotel in the city! Without fail I drop in on the John Derian Store on East 2nd street, conveniently placed around the corner. Here I stock up on all manner of domestic paraphanelia namely art books, wooden Kodak frames and Italian sugar paper.

The walls are adorned with a dizzying array of naive animal sketches. I love this notion of displaying art or photographs en masse. It's an idea so easy to incorporate into your home. Simply sketch something you love from your children to a cherished pair of shoes and mount in abundance on your walls.

Fave Reclamation Joints.

2009-02-02T06:06:00.000-08:00

www.retrouvius.com

www.fildefer.dk/

www.trainspotters.uk.com

www.castlegibson.com

www.theoldcinema.co.uk

Snow

2009-02-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

Wandering the streets of Hampstead this morning is akin to trawling the faux Dickensian streets of some quaint model village or Disney Land. Trees, houses, cars, privet bushes and eye lashes are dusted in a bright white snow: the fairytale variety all virginal and talc like. I love the way freshly settled snow evokes the childish spirit in all of us but loathe the way it ruins the suede on my Olive, Temperley Gilet.

Top 5 filmscapes that inspire my spaces.

2009-01-28T03:06:00.000-08:00

Peter Weir's 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'

The Maysle's 'Grey Gardens'

Ridley Scott's 'Blade Runner'

Wong Kar Wai's 'In the Mood for Love'

Lucile Hazihalilovic's 'Innocence'

Oldies!!! You'll love these Rourkey!

2009-01-27T04:30:00.000-08:00

Je suis fous de Paris 2008!

Bishi

2009-01-24T23:05:00.000-08:00

I delighted the aural and visual senses at a Bishi gig last night with my dear friend Mr Clarke. The Shoreditch church setting could not have been more fitting, the venue was bedecked with jewel coloured tea lights and the heady waft of mulled wine hung in the air. The atmosphere commanded a certain holy reverence.

Bishi delivered a hypnotic performance, imagine a Hindi Deity with Bardotesque features, Alison Goldfrapp's diminutive yet powerful stage presence, Ravi Shankar's virtuosity on sitar and street poetry issuing from her glorious voice box.

Love Lux

2009-01-21T23:52:00.000-08:00

My current visual obsession is the work of US based photographer Loretta Lux. I equally love and am unsettled by her utopian representation of the child in her pictures. I connect with the awkwardness of their gaze and allow it to bore a hole right through me, the unreadability of their expressions renders them inhuman yet oddly vulnerable.

Ich bin nein ein Berliner

2009-01-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

Spent last weekend slipping and sliding atop the icy pavements of Berlin with my coven of witches. We stayed in the Mitte district- Berlin's answer to SoHo, replete with guerilla galleries and bars. We lost a glove and found it again on our last day, little did we know that it would serve to be a lasting emblem of our stay in a city too cool for it's own good.

Berlin has a certain raffish beauty which is lent to it by the amazing urban art that decorates its concrete and Bauhaus environs. Delicious food also, lest we forget the impeccable Vietnamese fare to be had at Monsieur Vong's on Schonhauser Strasse.

Will endeavour to go back and make peace with the place.

RESOLVE and lots of it!

2009-01-01T02:41:00.000-08:00

May 2009 be a joyous, healthy and prosperous one!

There's nothing like January 1st to imbue you with a sense of promise and hope for the next three hundred and sixty-four days. Today feels like a blank canvas upon which I can right all the wrongs of last year. Today's palette features various shades of pink, ranging from the slightest blush to a brazen cerise. Undoubtedly the colour will morph into the murkiest shade of khaki as the year progresses, but right now I am basking in the innocence and ingenuity of pink.

Here are a few favourite resolutions I have collated over the years:

EXPECT AND ACCEPT

Stop speculating and assuming

stop being nice unnecessarily

be nice unnecessarily

stop judging

learn to be decisive

get rid of stuff

give more to charity

bake a cake at least once a week

pray to whomever or whatever- it's good for the soul.

worry less about what others think

DANCE LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW

stop blaming the parents

stop reacting

stop projecting

wait for the facts

Dress up more

do something that scares you

recycle efficiently

Lots of love M X

Crimbo Rehearsal!

2008-12-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

Revelled gloriously with my nearest and dearest yesterday. I roasted three chickens a feat I was quite proud of, those birds were prepared with copious amounts of love. We ate, we drank, we laughed out loud most of the time and played charades.

It was quite a shin dig and a great way to rally your friends up before Christmas Day. I have included some great pics courtesy of Sheeks ( Check out her awesome blog: chunkydoubledeuce).

Merry Christmas and all that!!! M x

1978

2008-12-17T07:56:00.000-08:00

Pouring through napthalene scented albums is a past time savoured for those quiet moments of indulgent solitude by the fire. This afternoon I did just that and came across a rare jewel of a photograph. A Buddha baby version of my current self, on the cusp of taking the first tentative steps as an upright human being. Aside from being a reminder of how impossibly cute I was it is testament to how stylish and hip my parents were. The back drop is the living room of my parents' Hong Kong Condominium circa 1978. Perhaps I am drawn to the amber hue, common amongst photographs of this vintage? There are nuances within this meticulously curated space that I have carried with me into adult life. I am welling up with nostalgia and an irrational longing for bamboo furniture. The Phalaenopsis orchids in a vase on the coffee table are a staple within my home and my bloom of choice for any occasion. I am convinced the key to my outlandish taste is hidden within every fibre of that noisy three-piece-suite. The mental snapshot I took at 9 months regurgitates itself often, it is clearly imbedded within my subconscious.

I miss the balmy days, the smell of my Snoopy pencil case and nanny Aurora's chicken adobo.

M x

A Child of the Jago

2008-12-12T03:08:00.000-08:00

This twisted lovechild of Joe Corre ( Co-founder of Agent Provocateur) and Barnzley (designer) is quite possibly the sickest menswear boutique in the capital. It's been open since July of this year and my virgin visit last night has left me quite scarred and inspired.

The name of the shop is taken from a novel by Arthur Morrison, who recounts the murky tale of Eastend squalor in Victorian London. The interior does not disappoint, as I crossed the threshold I was greeted by a Dickensian scallywag, resplendent in tailcoat and handlebar mustache. He ushered me into a time warp of a space decorated with old weaponry, prosthetic limbs and Apache Indian head pieces. I was torn between a Navaho style cashmere hoodie and a genuine 'Brothel Inspector' sheriff's badge' but settled for a 1960s vintage Pirelli Calendar, a Christmas gift for a very lucky man! M x

A Child of the Jago

10, Great Eastern Street

London, EC2A 3HT

Ashes and Bones.

2008-12-09T05:41:00.000-08:00

Graveyards fascinate me. This morning I meandered through the grounds of Hampstead Parish church. I was awestruck by nature's sublime invasion of such a space. The battle between man and time is a futile one.

The aged stones, garnished in moss and lichen all tell similar stories of some: "Selfless mother, beloved son, adored husband," whose ashes are interred beneath a crumbling sarcophagus. The simplest epithets are the ones that move me most. There are forgotten stones on the periphery that serve as shelter for a roaming vagrant who has the decency to piss in a bottle and not the sacred turf upon which he sleeps. He shares his bed with many a forgotten soul.

The yew tree offers its sinewy boughs to the winter sun and the din of traffic fades into a distant hum. Stillness reigns and I pretend to be invisible. M x

The Wall

2008-12-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

There are times we all arrive at some sort of impasse be it physical or emotional. I am there. I have just walked into a gargantuan brick wall.

I do not know who to trust or believe anymore. It frustrates me to the core. Resolution is the order of the day but somehow not achieved. The battle is a peaceful one but a battle nonetheless. I find comfort in Nico's innocent, chocolate button gaze, a gaze that can only convey love not judgement. She is my reason, my strength and my family.

The Fox

2008-12-05T04:14:00.000-08:00

Had a wildly debauched 'knees-up' in aid of the Fox's Birthday. Stolen kisses, fisticuffs and frayed egos were rife. Never, never again! No, I take that back, life's too short to be rueful. I shall cherish every moment. I danced until my feet bled, lost all sensation in my toes by wearing the most precarious heels ever. I bear my wounds with pride.

Copious amounts of champagne, good company and a kick ass band in the background make for a night of pure jollity. The Fox looked splendid, a Rossetti Goddess in rubber thigh boots and bandage dress. 18 forever!

The Art of Play

2008-12-03T05:39:00.000-08:00

This morning I played, played and played until my cheeks became ruddy. Fearlessly I scaled great mountain faces and threw myself off imaginary canyons into rivers of multicoloured balls.

It is easy to get lost in children. Their innocence and ability to exist within a moment serves as a time vacuum. It is a practice I wholly recommend and liken it to sort of conscious meditation. It would do our souls a world of good if we could only shroud the mundane with some semblance of play- if only for few minutes a day. Here are some ideas to soften the most hardened of grown-ups:

Making yourself dizzy
Building a den
Climbing trees
Swinging with abandon
Dancing with abandon
Singing with abandon
Hula Hooping
Cartwheels
Handstands
Peeing behind a bush
Juggling
Flying a kite...... Love M

Don't hate, create and curate!

2008-12-02T04:37:00.000-08:00

Butterfly catcher >
Anonymous masked woman

Mark Leckey has won the coveted Turner Prize this year and in homage to such an 'illustrious' awards ceremony I have curated and created a shortlist for my very own imaginary selection.

Art is omnipresent. From weather beaten planks of wood and gnarled rope to every creaking crevice and forgotten photograph. Look for curios collecting dust under the stairs or in the attic, give any oddity or objet a platform and it will look glorious. Love M

Let's begin at the end.........

2008-12-01T05:26:00.000-08:00

Tis' the first day of Advent and I am gazing out onto the rolling Cotswold Downs tinged with crisp, white hoar frost. What a perfect way to begin this blog as the year draws to its festive close and the promise of 2009 is imminent. I am filled with inspiration and a desire to share it with you.

In the grim wake of the current financial crisis there is a glimmer of hope, a renaissance perhaps? We should seize this opportunity to reflect upon our lives with a certain reverence. Appreciate the beauty in things we already own and those we love. Reclaim, recycle and reinvent, the way forwards is to hearken back!

Love M