Philipp's map of Luxembourg

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

There aren't many Luxembourgers in the world, but some of those in London meet at a pub every month. I went along, hoping to find someone to draw me a map.

The friendly gentlemen I found there happily helped, taking it in turns to draw the perfect map.

Luxembourg, drawn by Philipp

Luxembourg, they said, was shaped like a shoe on its side.

Phillippe's map shows some of Luxembourg's cities and towns including the small village Schengen which gives its name to Europe's open border visa arrangement. So three cheers for Luxembourg, the powerfully petit Grand Duchy.

Thomas Struth @ Whitechapel Gallery

Friday, September 09, 2011

I went to see the Thomas Struth exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery.

Many of the photographs in the show are of city streets and urban landscapes. In some cases - like New York, Tokyo, Las Vegas - the architecture tells the location.







But in many, the architecture doesn't give away where the photograph was taken. The photographs lined up side-by-side highlight the same-ness of buildings, and (mainly) Western European architecture. It could be anywhere.

Only the street signs, the shop signs, and advertising gives clues to where the picture is.




Maybe it doesn't need to be obvious from the architecture where these streets are, but, somehow, it feels a little sad that it's not...