Wednesday 11 November 2009

Eastern Europe 2009



This year I travelled for a month from Kyiv in Ukraine all the way to Istanbul, Turkey by myself.
It was possibly the most amazing experience of my life, and was an enormous source of inspiration for me.
I wanted to share a few of my favourite photo's from the trip that highlight my journey...


Kyiv, Ukraine.
This is part of the entrance to the Soviet History Museum in Kyiv. Of all the places I visited, Kyiv was the most influenced by the power which blanketed the region from Moscow. I have to say that I love the architecture which was produced in this time (purely on a VISUAL and FUNCTIONAL level!!!) The sharp cutting lines and greyness of the concrete forming the star really imposed a sense of power on the viewer as you walked through the tunnel into the museum.




Odessa, Ukraine.
Eastern Europe is full of quirky things like this. The caravan had been turned into a ticket office for a circus which was in an abandoned park overlooking the port. There was a bizarre atmosphere here as there was nobody around even though there was plenty to do - right in the centre of the town!



Chisinau, Moldova.
Moldova is the second poorest country in Europe, has 2 break-away self-declared states within its borders that no other country on the planet officially recognises and has the deepest pot holes I have ever seen!
I took this photo in the capital, Chisinau. I love the contrast between the shiny, well kept car and the crumbling building. I think there is a real mood in this image that jumps out at you and tells a story.

More to follow soon.......

Saturday 7 November 2009

FOR THE LOVE OF NAFF!

"Welcome aboard this FLYBOWN flight! Please listen carefully to the following announcements, even if you are a frequent flyer..."

So here it is! My very first blog!

I wanted to create something in this little nugget of cyberspace to really call my own! And what better way to do it than a naff-faux-1970's international airline!?

I thought I should take this opportunity to tell you some of the things that get my kerosene flowing! (n.b.... this list is not exhaustive!)

-Naff-1970's airlines (The real ones!)
-Constructivist Poster Art
-Europe
-The art of retailing
-Provocative advertising
-The Eurovision Song Contest
-Independent films
-The Cyrillic Alphabet
-Innovative/exciting print media
-VM
-Anything quirky

.....Plus lots of other things that will probably crop up and cause a bit of turbulence along the way!

So, lets all fasten our seat-belts, put our tray-tables in their upright position and prepare for take off - its going to be one hell of a ride!!