Garden Project, Leeds Castle - Kent

My Chosen Object - Money Hat

Money hat

From Samu'ah, southern Hebron hills, modern Palestinian Authority, AD 1840s (with later additions)

This headdress or 'money hat' (wuqayat al-darahem) was made commercially by Bethlehem women for the use of villagers in the hills of southern Palestine. The original embroidery on the crown has been overlaid with more recent embroidery. The headdress was worn in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century during the wedding ceremony, especially for the 'going out to the well' ceremony when the bride appeared in public as a married woman for the first time. The headdress displayed the pride and status of the family, and was passed down through the generations.

This headdress has clearly had many owners, each of whom added coins or trinkets. The most numerous coins are Ottoman Turkish, dating from the reign of Mahmud I (1730-54) to that of Mahmud II (1808-39), with further silver and copper eighteenth- and nineteenth-century coins, and a Romanian 2-lei piece dated 1924. Other ornaments include sixteenth-century German brass counters, a brass army badge, triangular white metal amulets and various glass, plastic, imitation pearl and coral beads and buttons. The headdress also features crescents, 'hands of Fatimah' (against the evil eye) and a pink plastic hand.

I am very passionate about my culture, it is something that never fails to intrigue me. Im always curious about my roots and always longing to connect with my heritage. The object i have chosen to look at is a Money Hat worn by traditional palestinians from Hebron back from 1840 AD. Hebron is a city in Southern Palestine not far from Bethlehem, thats where generations of my family were born and raised. This headdress (wuqayat al-darahem) was made commercially by women in Bethlehem. The embroidery on the crown has been overlaid with more recent embroidery. The headdress was worn during  wedding ceremonies, it displayed the pride and status of the family, and was passed down through the generations. Palestinian costumes and dresses reflected a woman's social and marital status and also the town or district of origin.

V&A Fashion V Sport

www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/future_exhibs/fashion_sport/index.html

Cildo Meireles

www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/cildomeireles/explore.shtm

Red Shift 1967-84, 3 part installation

Brazilian conceptual artist Cildo miereles has made some of the most politically telling,aesthetically seductive and philosophically intriguing works of the last for decades.

"A work by Miereles often starts in a commonplace, usually domestic object, or a childhood memory, which becomes transmuted into a perceptual, philosophical, even a cosmological speculation, without, however, losing its grit, its roots in social reality - a reality often harsh but marked by human resilience and inventiveness." (Guy Brett, co-curator 2008).

What really intrigues me with his work is that it's interactive. You walk through it, around it, underneath it and in it. It's part of an indescribable feeling of excitement and feeling so involved with it. Miereles says " For me the art object must be, despite everything else, instantly seductive."  I found that the wide range of materials and media was so vast, from plastic, glass, metal and fabric and so much more.

My favorite installation was room 4, Red Shift. Miereles takes us into a disorientating all-red world. the first part is 'Impregnation', a domestic setting where every item and object is red, from the telephone to the items in the fridge. The initial concept was to imagine a place in which someone would accumulate the greatest number of objects in different shades of red.

Second part was titled 'Entorno' meaning spill and environment. A bottle appears to have spilled a red liquid which looks so real i wasn't sure if i could step on it. The spill is so large you wouldn't expect to see out of such a small bottle which lead to the third part 'Shift'. In a pitch black room a small slanted sink with a tap dripping red liquid is all you can see. It was a very weird experience being in these rooms, so surreal and almost a slight terror ran through me as i walked into each part.

I have never felt like this in any exhibition i've been to all my life, the work is so unique and intriguing. I absolutely enjoyed every moment of this exhibition that i went twice, even that was not enough. 

Sir John Soane's Museum

This museum is one of my favorite places, it's like a secret house with the biggest collection of antiquities. This is the house of England's greatest Architect. After his death in 1837 his house was turned into a museum and was kept in it's shape and form ever since. No changes have ever been made. 

Walking into the house made me feel like i was walking back in time looking at historical objects from all around the world. The display is very different than any other museum i have been to. It looks just like an over cluttered house. It does feel very magical and enchanting when you walk around the house and into the rooms. the objects are displayed a any person would display ornaments around their own living space. Most people have a cabinet of curiosities full of wonderful and weird items collected from different places and i feel like the museum is a huge cabinet of curiosities.

www.soane.org

Roger Hiorns - Seizure

The title 'Seizure' is what caught me at first, as i went to the location i knew i was going to be amazed. It's a feeling that the title prepares you for. My excitement built up as i put on the wellington boots and waiting in the queue to enter. My first impressions on entering the flat was pure amazement. I was just astonished at the scale of the work, I just didn't expect it. I thought it was beautiful, the cobalt blue colour was just captivating. It did feel very surreal being in the flat, it was quite sad as well knowing it was going to be eventually demolished.

The flat, located at Elephant & Castle is part of an uninhabited council block awaiting demolition. Roger Hiorns was commissioned to produce this work. The crystals are formed of copper sulphate. The flat is very small and with very low lighting it feels even smaller giving a feeling of claustrophobia and tightness. The shine of the crystals and the dampness of the floors makes it feel like an underground cave. This was a very unforgettable visit. very unusual and unique.

www.artangel.org.uk/pages/present/present0808_seizure.htm

Francis Bacon - Tate Britain

Francis Bacon is internationally accredited as among the most influential painters of the 20^th century. personally I was really repulsed by his work that i saw in the Tate. I found it aggressive and it made me feel very uncomfortable. He is an Atheist expressing the feeling of living in world without God or Afterlife. As a Muslim i can not relate to any of his works as unlike him i do believe in God and the Afterlife.