It seems we are on the inside, looking out, of a storm of change in politics currently. While change is almost always seen as an unwelcome visitor, these particular winds of change can quite firmly be stated as going very much in the wrong direction. Historically, in times such as these, wherein society is craving order, simplicity, and security, art often desires the same; and we bear witness to a ‘call to order’ – a return to classical tradition. Most vehemently was this se

In ‘The Loop or the Vortex’, Kader Attia reminds us of a limitation Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace were confronted with as they developed their theory of natural selection. [1] The Neanderthal’s brain was oversized for its needs and although fully adapted to its environment, the species continued to develop. Yet, this so-called development has brought us to the Industrial Age during which human beings, rather than proving their superiority by adapting to their envir

I am usually the first to avoid horror films, but the trailer for Netflix’s Velvet Buzzsaw intrigued me. A horror film concerning the art world is quite an original premise, and I was looking forward to seeing how the art world was portrayed. The film follows art critic Morf Vandewalt (Jake Gyllenhaal) as he searches for originality within Miami Basel, and is soon haunted by a supernatural force seeking revenge on art gallerists pursuing profit from the artworks of an unknown

News of the Notre-Dame fire has deeply shocked people worldwide. Amidst the various reasons for it holding a deep-seated significance for many people, including religious, cultural and national, is Notre-Dame’s status as a Gothic icon. For art historians, amateur enthusiasts and casual onlookers alike, the prospect of losing the cathedral, its stained glass, its Cavaillé-Coll organ and the artworks inside, is nothing short of horrifying. Notre-Dame, Pre-Fire (Photo: Francesca

No school, no problems? Maybe so. April is looking calm and revolving a little bit more around the inner self this go around. With the time out of classes, you might actually be able to get around to some exhibitions. Cultivate yourself like a well-tended garden, and debut as swiftly and beautifully as the cherry blossoms about London. Spring is here, groom and bloom. Illustration by Jemima Hooke Aries If the stars could serenade, then this month they would sing, ‘I’ve got my

Picture the scene. You’re in your most splendid garb, nursing a double vodka orange between the murky hours of 12am and 4am in The Flying Handbag, an iconic gay club in the heart of Blackpool. Maybe you’re in the smoking area. Maybe you can hear the faint siren call of an S Club 7 Megamix pounding through the walls. Maybe it’s Kylie’s 2001 banger Love at First Sight. Either way the music starts to crossfade, the drag queen DJ instructs ‘Get on yer feet’ in an enchanting north

As MPs leave the Commons for their Easter break, I’m taking time out of mine to bring you my weekly report on the chaos that we call ‘the news’. Just as last week, you may be aware that we are still in the EU, despite the revised leave date of the 12th having passed on Friday. This is because earlier in the week May went back to Brussels (her Eurostar loyalty card must be overflowing with points by now) to grovel once again for just a little more time, but first, she had to m

The discoveries of new poems by Sappho in 2004 and 2014, particularly the near-completion of the Tithonus poem, excited both scholarly and worldwide audiences. Sappho’s poetry appears to be as greatly admired today as it was in antiquity – from the seventh century BC onwards, she was known as the ‘Tenth Muse’ and the ‘The Poetess’, and was a popular character in Athenian comedic plays and vase decoration. From the nineteenth century, Sappho adopted her current cultural role a

Tom Stuart and Beru Tessema in ‘Edward II’ at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (Photo: Marc Brenner) I would not usually be compelled to write a review, or even a response to a piece of theatre. In fact, let me state that I find writing reviews extremely difficult. How could I sum up a two-hour, one-of-a-kind emotional journey in a mere couple hundred words? Nevertheless, I am doing it now because for the past month these two Globe productions have kept me thinking about how theat

The one time I take a week off from bringing you a window into the world of news and all hell breaks loose. Since I last wrote, March came to an end and with it our membership of the EU… or did it? The observant ones amongst you may have noticed that we are still ‘in’ or, as Theresa May said after the (first) earth-shattering defeat of her deal a few months back, “nothing has changed.” So how did we get here? Well, as outlined in my last column, our departure had been delayed