Yayoi Kusama

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...

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

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

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Land of OZ

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.....

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....

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

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.