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this is quite a fun scene at Hunter Square… that ruth, ester and i were drawn to after our visit to the mesmerising exhibition of faces while we tried to find a place to have a cuppa. the bagpiper’s rendition of fast scottish reels and the afro-hip-hop rhythms of the drummers made for a musical fusion feast for the ears (and eyes!)… a crowd soon grew and were reluctantly dispersed by the scattered showers that eventually stole the show.
you’d probably recognise the face of the Afghan girl with piercing green eyes that once covered an issue of the National Georgraphic magazine, even if you didn’t realise that the photographer who captured the face is Steve McCurry, one of the world’s best photographers who tries to bring the connectedness of humans through his pictures. as least, that was the case for me… i’d seen the face on his collection of portraits published by Phaidon but i couldn’t remember who the photographer was until i was reminded of his name at the “Face of Asia: Steve McCurry photographs” exhibited at Edinburgh’s City Art Gallery.
it is a wonderful collection of portraits and scenes… and often the intensity of the facial expressions could really tell you so much of the person’s life. what skill, sensitivity and patience it must require to attain the quality of expressivity in his subjects, whether descriptively or metaphorically… what i find so amazing about photographs is how much they tell you about the subject and the photographer and in some other ways, the audience. this inter-connected-ness renders a beautiful role for well-captured photographs.
as i wandered about the gallery filled with his signature pieces, i found myself wondering perhaps what makes Steve McCurry’s photographs powerful is because they capture more than the person or the places in which they live or flee… they capture the ironies of life too and the formidable human strength to overcome some of life’s harshest conditions… they are themselves, life stories. it is life stories that touch… and this is how his photographs have connected people and how people reached out to those they do not know, to help.
i found myself taken to a photograph of an indian man wading through the flood left by a monsoon, water to his chin, him carrying his livelihood, an old sewing machine slightly submerged, to higher grounds… on his face, a resilient but distant smile. when i finished reading the caption that accompanied it, i turned my head not knowing that another lady was also there… and we both just happened to look at each other at the same time.
“It’s so amazing!” she exclaimed with a beautiful smile.
“i am so happy he got a new sewing machine!” i told her…
“Me too!”
that made my day. the happiness is quite indescribable…
Steve McCurry’s work can also be viewed at the pdn gallery and is definitely worth catching if it comes to a place near you.
talented Nick from light vessel automatic is a great musician and it’s a pity i didn’t always hear him play in the gigs he performed in edinburgh but i do remember the one time i heard him and watched him do his amazing thing after our Finals at the WhistleBinkies… check out his beautiful Four Songs from seatunes.org…
–> you might need to get coolplayer to read the .ogg files… but it’s really a cool player!
enjoy! =c)
Ndebele is a name of a tribe in africa… but in edinburgh, it is a lovely african cafe not far from where i live… and a popular place for people to hang out… this evening, ruth and i met there and caught up over a bowl of scrumptious butternut, sundried tomato and hot pepper soup each, which was served with lovely corn bread… i was a little early and had a little snap snap fun while enjoying my cuppa rooibosch tea with honey.
the ambience of the place is simply created by reusing various things: from woven sacks layered to cover the ceiling to second-hand wooden furniture to hand-painted walls with afro-patterns… it certainly has an organic feel to it…
apart from serving really yummy african-styled dishes, sweets and gorgeous sandwiches, the cafe always exhibit works by artists who paint, draw or capture scenes from the African lands… and this evening, we were eyed by elephants, one water-buffalo and a leopard while drinking our soups… and they eavesdropped while we chatted about random things… (including politics… and my chronic nomadic existence… sigh)
i am not one who is really good at finding suitable gifts so i often end up giving handmade crafts instead… this little japanese plate is something i decorated at Doodles, a lovely place to create something personal and useful… f has a stripey tea-cup set which i painted for his bday a few years back and ruth has a little flowery milk-jar as a gift for her bday last year… and the owner of this plate is my brother who so kindly tolerated my nonsense when i visited him in NY… (maybe i will snap pictures of the other creations when i next visit their owners… so keep watching this wee space!)
–Friday 15th April 2005–
it’s been quite a while since i posted regularly… i kinda lost that ‘randomness’ and excitement of posting something potentially trivial and nonsequential… perhaps i ought to limit myself to more substantial and informative posts… hmm.
anyways… here i am in Manhattan… just round the corner from Times Square… New York is a happening place… far too busy for my liking… BUT there are pockets of very charming areas that are able to keep yours truly smiling…
Fopp Records at the windy cobbled-stone Cockburn street in Edinburgh is a great place to go when you know what you want to get… they do CD/DVD/book titles at much cheaper prices… but if you are like me, who’s usually not sure what she wants… it would require quite a lot of luck to pick out something you’d like especially when they do not have the prior-purchase listening service… thankfully there’s a return option…
Ana is an album of jazzy guitar pieces by Ralph Towner that i picked up sometime last year, not quite knowing if i’d like it even though i did have a hunch… when i got home and listened to it, i was rather chuffed with my pick… it’s rather good… well, i like it… the atmospheric themes are rather soothing… hmm guess i might pick up another of his albums next time i am near the store!
i shall have to keep awake to watch this Hokkien Opera that will be staged at the Esplanade tonight! i know very little about Chinese Operas except that they sing in high shrilly voices and there’s quite a spectacular display of acrobatic stunts… and lots of colourful clothes and face-painting!
