Alys is a photographer based in north London. Her work has been included in over twenty international exhibitions, most recently at the Rencontres d’Arles in France and Somerset House, London. She was named Sony World Photographer of the Year 2018 for her series ‘Ex-Voto’ and the work was published by GOST Books in 2019.
You would have seen the Brutalist towers and curves from afar. Upon entering the estate where the cultural centre is, you quickly realise the scale, the beauty and charm of this labyrinthine project. Barbican Centre's programming is top of the league across art, theatre, dance and music, both contemporary and classical, art forms. This place is an architectural and cultural institution boldly redefining the UK's cultural landscape.
There are libraries full of screaming children and strip lighting, and then there are libraries like The London Library. Whenever I’m there it’s hard to believe I’m not caught inside a wonderful dream, because everything about this place is so perfect as to be almost unreal.
6a converted a vacant mews warehouse in Bloomsbury into a set of spaces for the storage and display of art for a young art collector. The warehouse is situated in a cobbled mews, adjacent to artist studios, houses, a piano shop and a pub. Book a tour!
Being down on the underground can be quite stressful and draining, but if you have the chance to look up and into the details that has gone into the tiling of the platforms and stations you might start to see some beauty down there. A lot of stations has bespoke tiles and decorations, almost a century old.
Bethnal Green station is one of a handful in London to have been given a very specific additional decoration to the classic cream tiles and name strip. Easy to miss, but dotted around the station are a series of tiles with raised motifs on them, representing aspects of London and places that the Underground visited.
Or for typographers: check the type on Hampstead station or Holloway Road for some inspiration.