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Review - Plague Over England

1950s London was a difficult place to be gay. A quick wink or a lingering look was enough to be charged for ‘importuning male persons for an immoral purpose’. Homosexuality had been denounced politically, and for the less liberally minded there was a gay plague over England.

So in 1953, when recently knighted John Gielgud entered a public lavatory off the Fulham Road and emerged in handcuffs with an undercover policeman, his reputation and career were on the brink of collapse.

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Horniman’s curiosity shop

Founded by Victorian tea trader Frederick Horniman in 1901, the Horniman Museum is full of curiosities from all over the world. The highlights include the aquarium that focuses on British pond and seaside creatures – an incredible display of natural life on our own doorstep; the natural history gallery showing all manner of birds, reptiles, mammals (stuffed and skeletons) still around and extinct; and African Worlds – a celebration of African history and diversity through cultural artefacts from the continent.

It’s a curious place, reminiscent to an old flea market or a Victorian quack’s surgery at times – there is none of the modern ‘white cube’ approach to the displays. And that makes it even more intriguing and exciting. The museum has been highly praised by critics and has won several prestigious awards, including Visit London’s Visitor Attraction of the Year, 2007. Just 15 minutes from London Bridge the Horniman is well worth a visit.

The Horniman Museum is open daily 10.30-5.30pm. Entrance to the museum and gardens is free.

The sidewalk critic / the art of looking upwards

London: the daily grind, the constant pace, the constant fervour. It is a living and breathing entity with emotions, feelings and moods, just like you or I. Does London reflect mood or cause mood? Is my own fate dependent on its fate? We shape it over time, we mark it with signs, paint it with art, decorate / demolish / rebuild. At the same time the city shapes us. It gives us personality, memory and purpose.

Lewis Mumford, New York's 'sidewalk critic', once said the most beautiful thing about cities. He said that cities are a product of time, a fact of nature and a place where mind takes form. Adding “With language itself, it remains mans greatest work of art.”

Lost in thought and surrounded by strangers, somewhere between Hackney Central and Dalston Kingsland, a peeling patch of graffiti on an old brick wall reminded me of Mumford’s words. Someone’s imprint on the city – I don’t know its circumstances, its author, its purpose. But it has caused me to think about it and is part of my own consciousness now. Would that old wall have caught my attention without it? I doubt it. Would the graffiti have had the same impact on me if it wasn’t for the wall? I’ll never know.

Unique and imperfect details cover London; they cover all cities. Look sideways, look upwards (the image above shows an off-kilter square in Alexandra Palace's roof), downwards – they’re there. They are what makes the city appealing: at once both brightening the mood (mine and London’s) and providing a focus to counter the daily grind.

Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, 19-27 March, London

From 19-27 March, the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival will take place in London for the 13th year with screenings and discussions focusing on some of the most pressing stories of the era.

The London festival this year premieres Youth Producing Change, a programme of youth-produced human rights films from around the world, in collaboration with founding presenter Adobe Youth Voices, the global initiative of the Adobe Foundation. Human Rights Watch will also present a photo exhibit, On the Frontlines, to coincide with the festival at the Frontline Club in Paddington from March 2 to March 27.

This year’s line-up includes 16 features and nine shorts from 21 countries, one world premiere, one European premiere, 10 UK premieres, and two London premieres. Thirteen of the 16 features focus on the following places: Afghanistan; Burma; Ecuador; Gujurat, India; Kashmir; Lebanon; Liberia; the Palestinian territories; Russia; Rwanda; South Africa; and Sudan. Other films take a global perspective, including the universal and poetically told story of an immigrant in the opening night screening on 19 March of Eden is West by the veteran filmmaker Costa Gavras (image above).

For the full programme of screenings visit the festival website at: http://www.hrw.org/iff

One to watch: How Art Made the World

Sky Arts 2 series begins at 7pm on Monday, 2 March, 2009.

Ever wondered why humans are so obsessed with representing the human form in art? Or how politicans use images to influence and control? Then this illuminating series is just what you've been looking for...

Just why does the world appear how it does? Fusing social history, politics, science, nature, archaeology and religion, this landmark series unravels a universal mystery - why the world around us looks like it does. Modern-day mysteries are answered by journeying back to the beginning of civilisation via some of the most amazing man-made creations in the world. An intriguing narrative thread drives through each film as exciting scientific demonstrations reveal how our minds, and those of our ancient ancestors, relate to art. Beautiful, surprising, compelling and above all, relevant, with a visual ambition worthy of its epic subject-matter, this awe-inspiring adventure will appeal not only to art lovers, but to anyone who has ever wondered about humanity's place in the world.