WAMD went to London with the main purpose of experiencing Bowie in the new V&A exhibition named David Bowie is. We were already feeling the magic of Ziggy when approaching the museum, big orange flags were announcing everything David Bowie IS, from "influencing your behaviour" to "the reason why we are who we are now". Once inside, the Kansai Yamamoto's "Tokyo Pop" vinyl bodysuit was our first sight of what Bowie's imaginarium and genius had to offer.
The exhibition combines traditional display cabinets showing personal belongings and pictures with state of the art sets of an old David's teen bedroom or doors with spyholes that make you feel the voyeurism of peeping into others' intimacy. During the whole exhibition a wireless sound device is increasing the sensorial inputs by playing everything from Bowie's songs to interviews or comments in an automatized way, you can walk the exhibition without caring about a precise "suite de la visite", just go from one point to the other at your entire will!
All the content in this exhibition shows the different faces of Bowie, a complete artist: music, lyrics, fashion, graphic design, stage design, drawings and much more; all that eclecticism converges in Bowie's mind. It is important to emphasise the varied influences of all his creations and collaborations: the fashion designs by Kansai Yamamoto showing reminiscences of japonism and kabuki theatre and some other interesting pieces like the costume that Bowie wore when performing The Man Who Sold The World with Klaus Nomi and Joey Arias on Saturday Night Live (1979) are just brilliant.
Finally, at the last section you encounter a mind-blowing concert-like set with lights and enormous screens showing Bowie in some of the most remarkable live gigs. A great experience that all the audience was really enjoying, and so did we; just sat there and lived the moment.
If you are planning a London break we strongly encourage you to feel Bowie! No pre-booked tickets left, but if you go to the V&A museum at opening times you may have the chance to get a couple, the exhibition is worth the effort.
As we were in London, one of the most exciting cities in Europe, we made the most of our time. If you are looking for art, Tate is always the best choice. At the modern branch a Lichtenstein retrospective and an Ellen Gallagher exhibition were really attractive.
The Whitechapel Art Gallery is a must see of the East End. A lovely museum where you can always discover something inspiring among its temporal exhibitions. During this visit we especially enjoyed the commemoration of the 50s exhibition about British popular art.
Wire sculptures of lions at the Tower of London by Kendra Haste. The Tower of London was a zoo for nearly 600 years, and these sculptures try to give the visitors the idea of what would have it been like.
Elephant (1984) by Bill Woodrow, at Tate Britain.
As a way to say farewell to the city we went to Kensington gardens, a walk through the alleys of the park lined by trees in pink blossom. Refreshing drizzle was covering everything and increasing the grey atmosphere of mystery that London has, and that we LOVE.
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