summer so quickly gone

it's mid august. aka school in less than half a month. exam results on thursday (scary). summer went by so quickly, i swear it just began ??? probably because i disappeared away from friends and into asia for a month and a half. i was working in hong kong for a few weeks then travelling with family to macau, hangzhao and macau. it was mostly fun because i met lots of new people (always gd) and took lots of photos (on film) although generally my creativity and writing wasn't really happening when i was away. working for the first time was really scary / interesting / fun and people were really nice and i got paid so !!!

i go to hong kong every yr because i have family there but i guess i never really appreciated its beauty. Because i had gone so many times, i had grown tired of the city. and then i fell in love with Ward Roberts' courts series- a beautiful collection of pastel colored buildings and uniformed courts. a series i later found out was mostly shot in hong kong. then when i returned this summer, i looked up and realized these wonderful colours i admired in roberts' work so much were right in front of me, painted on all the buildings. i also went to some old casinos in macau and the decor was so 70s glamour (that was probably because that's when they were designed) and it reminded me of lana del rey songs.

this summer i tried to at least go to lots art exhibitions, one was in Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art. others included Matisse cut-outs at the Tate which I thought were playful and lively and very contemporary considering when they were created. AND I went to Jenny Saville at the Gagosian which was incredible to see her art IRL. her paintings are mesmerising and intriguing and to some, uncomfortable. but i love the honesty and rawness of her subjects and that disordered glitchy feel. i don't know how she does it, it's amazing.

another one i went to was Marina Abramovic's 512 Hours. i guess i had high expectations because of all the hype about the artist but really i didn't know what to expect. the experience was really interesting and i'm so glad i went. when i went in, i was quite nervous because everything was silent and i could see Marina right in front of me walking around and talking to other people but when i left, i was at peace, happy, rested, empty yet full. many people were emotional and personally, i think it has to do with the silence and the emptiness and the lack of anything to do. the boredom forces people's minds to think about anything which, if given a long enough time, can turn to darker thoughts and evoke sadder (or happier) memories. when the sound is muted and the eyes are closed and any sense of direction gone, you have only your mind left and so you think and think and think.

Ward Roberts courts series

Jenny Saville @ Gagosian

Matisse cut outs

p.s. i got a haircut and my film will be developed next week. i'll also post some writings sometime in the week. oh and i changed my url to teenagecomplex and saying goodbye to zszophia :-)

S