David Bowie Is and L'opera

I took an extra day off work this Tuesday to prolong my bank holiday and generally sort my life out, and thank god I did as being English I'm obsessed with the weather, and the weather man delivered another blissfully warm sunny day.

 So I popped on my walking shoes, well not really actually I put my Russell and Bromley studded loafers and skipped out the door into the heat.

So where to? I ventured along the river bank, iPod blazing in my ears and decided South Kensington was where I was heading. The V&A to be exact. I thought I would try my hand at getting a ticket to the David Bowie Is  exhibition which I had been dying to go and see. I was in luck and was given a ticket for 13:45pm.

So with 45 minutes to kill and my tummy rumbling a light bulb switched in my head and I headed for L'opera (don't you think the name is totally appropriate for the exhibition I was going to see, both linking to music and all!!!!)

All the deli food is homemade and organic. Their style is Levantine to Persia with an Italian and Greek twist. 100% up my street.

I made my selection of salads to take away (you can eat in but I had other plans), and began to get snap happy around the colourful, artistic and beautiful restaurant. Every corner offered something exciting to look and an abundance of colour.

Off I trotted back to the V&A salads a go go and coffee in hand, and I plonked myself down outside in there epic-ly stunning sunny courtyard complete with pond and I began to chow down. The food was fresh and packed full of flavor, I recommend the taztziki (so fresh with a massive Mint hit), the tabloueh and the Aubergine towers, oh and saffron potatoes.

With 5 minutes to go I packed up my leftovers and headed for the entrance to the exhibition. I was greeted with a headphone set, an important piece to the exhibition as it plugged music, quotes, speeches etc linking to the piece you were around (very clever stuff I think). Obvi no photography was allowed, sorry chaps. But this exhibition blew my mind and was worth every penny. GO!

I loved this quote from Bowie in 1995 'All art is unstable. it's meaning is not necessarily that implied by the author. There is no authoritative voice. There are only multiple reading.' 

Bowie wants his music to look like it sounds. So he created his persona Ziggy Stardust. Who had a dramatic rise and fall, which was perfectly depicted throughout the exhibition. I was a particular fan of the costumes dotted around the rooms on platforms.

In a nut shell
'The V&A’s Theatre and Performance curators, Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh have selected more than 300 objects that will be brought together for the very first time. They include handwritten lyrics, original costumes, fashion, photography, film, music videos, set designs, Bowie’s own instruments and album artwork.The exhibition will explore the broad range of Bowie’s collaborations with artists and designers in the fields of fashion, sound, graphics, theatre, art and film. On display will be more than 300 objects including Ziggy Stardust bodysuits (1972) designed by Freddie Burretti, photography by Brian Duffy; album sleeve artwork by Guy Peellaert and Edward Bell; visual excerpts from films and live performances including The Man Who Fell to Earth, music videos such as Boys Keep Swinging and set designs created for the Diamond Dogs tour (1974). Alongside these will be more personal items such as never-before-seen storyboards, handwritten set lists and lyrics as well as some of Bowie’s own sketches, musical scores and diary entries, revealing the evolution of his creative ideas.'

Hee I copied that from the V&A website, thanks guys ;-) I left feeling so cultured and very inspired. Also I can't help but thinking I'm so lucky to live in London.

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