Day trip to Liverpool

 Cast from Nature, Christine Borland, that raises questions of beauty within artistic representations of the dead body I was torn between something really beautiful and something quite disturbing.

The day started at the Walker gallery partly just to pee (much nicer than train loos). They have an exhibition of the winners of the John Moores painter prize. I was excited to see David Hockney's Peter Getting Out Of Nick's Pool . They also had work by Michael Raedecker, Mirage and a favourite of mine painter Peter Doig, Blotter.

Douglas Gordon

10 ms-1, 1994 video installation, 10:37 minutes

Footage that was originally created to study people with psychiatric impairments, the man is unable to stand the images are slowed down to a rhythmic sequence, I more fixated by this than a lava lamp!

We then moved on to the Bluecoat for the adapted Dutch Neit Normal exhibition. The exhibition is apart of DaDA festival (on until 2nd September) showing interesting and challenging work which plays with perceptions and notions of 'normality' and human behaviours. The exhibition is really worth a look the exhibition is fantastic collaboration all round.

For more details check out www.dadafest.co.uk

 Karlin Sander, 135 Museum vistors and 1 Dog 1:8, 2008

copyright of artist and Lehmbruck Museum Duisburg VG Bildkunst Bohn.

We then watched Mean Little Deaf Queer, a reading from Terry Galloway's memoir by the artist herself. She was totally captervativing; her story was brutealy honest, tender and emotionally raw. I could picture every detail as my own experience through her words; I felt the confusion and excitment of her sexual awakening. You can actually listen to her performance here on her website to gain a small insight to her beautiful performance. I was particularly pleased to exchange a little hug from her as she left the Bluecoat.

I'm going back tomorrow for The mean spirit workshop and performance a collaboration between Fittings media and David Hoyle (review will come soon).

 Birgit Dieker, Bad Mummy, 2005 Collection Amelie Nothomb, Paris

We ended the day by walking down to the Tate Liverpool and the Turner Monet Twombly exhibition this exhibition creates a wonderful opportunity to compare and contrast various forms of landscape painting through the ages.

Of everything I saw at Tate Liverpool I was particularly drawn in by War, Excile and the Rock Limpet 1842

The figure in the painting is Napoleon gazing down and reflecting upon the impact of those lost at war. There is a figure in the distance approaching Napoleon; it is as though the figure is looking for the words to console the leader within a dream like landscape. The colours within the painting are displayed in a vivid spectrum areas are lit in blues, green and red.

The exhbition is on until the end of October loads of time to see the whole lot!