h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Went to this excellent show today.

http://www.southlondongallery.org/page/144/Pursuit-of-Perfection-The-Politics-of-Sport/725

Highlight for me was the main gallery at the SLG which was filled by Sicillian artist, Alexandra Mir with all manner of cups given out in sporting competitions. I think she collected them over sometime, paying £5 a throw to the owners/winners. They were as tacky as the one's I got as a kid in my women's football career, along with all kinds of medals...shiny gold and silver but scratched and plasticky tat. She had made all kinds of sculptures with them. The feeling in the gallery space reminded me of a church and the reflections off of the curved surfaces all reflecting each other were quite extraordinary, en masse as it were.

Other highlights at the SLG and down the road at the recently sold off by Southwark council town hall, ( a wonderful Art Deco building), were the videos on a loop of footballers rolling over and over apparently fouled, and in agony. It was pretty hilarious.

I loved the room that had a film taken by the artist of the Los Angeles games from the TV. It was shown in slightly slow motion, in lurid colour and he/she had focussed on the many shots shown of close-ups of women's crotches in the synchronised swimming, as they had their legs spread apart and their heads underwater; also of male sprinters' 'lunch boxes' from the camera facing them at the finish line.

Great stuff.

Sounds like great exibits, Effers. D and I were admiring the athelisism of the syncronized swimmers during the technical part of the duets. This sport really requires superb conditioning and up to 12 hours of practice per day and some of those lovely ladies were professionals or grad students in tough subjects, too. Really mindblowing. Thanks for your description of the exibits.