Essays & Art
When volunteering at an Octavia foundation charity shop in London’s Kentish Town, I stumbled across the name giver of this organisation: Octavia Hill.
Octavia was living in 19th century London. She was a prominent figure in the fight against land developers who were as early as the 1830s planning to build townhouses and villas on London’s famous green lung “Hampstead Heath”. Yes, the Hampstead Heath. This amazingly vast forest so close to the city.
Continue reading “Who is Octavia Hill?”
Whilst staying in Venice, I paid a visit to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. A big exhibition was devoted to Hans Arp, better known as Jean Arp, the dada artist and sculptor. You will have seen his distinct organically flowing sculptures. It was only in the very last section of the exhibition that an important factor of Jean Arp’s being, creativity and success emerged: His wife Sophie Taeuber.
I bet you have never heard of her. This is her story.
Continue reading “Who is Sophie Taeuber-Arp?”
I first stumbled across this extraordinary character when staying in Venice for the Biennale.
Tucked away from tourist streams in a truly Venetian grand flat, I read about the San Michele cemetery island and its fascinating personalities buried there and ending their lives in a sometimes rather unexpected fashion.
Continue reading “Who is the Wandering Princess?”
Our humble roots are in hunting and gathering, and we need to re-program ourselves to respond to our rapid adoption of technology and automation. Linked is the relationship between women and men. The Marriage Concept is broken.
Continue reading “A New Glue for Society”
So here’s a tale I want to share with you. Let me reconstruct the scene. Sunny day, chairs outside in the garden, birds chirping. My sis and I during a heart-to-heart. No, not birds, I made that up.
Her: Why don’t you meet anyone?
Moi: Dunno.
Her: How about dating?
Moi: Yes, I’d love to.
Her: Soooo, how about …
Continue reading “Do you dare to ask him out or why don’t we talk to each other?”
Cornelia Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s sister, was a gifted writer, we hear. But she died in childbed, 26 years old. Trapped in an unhappy marriage she despised. While her brother was free to roam the world, choose as partner whom he wanted and lived to rise to one of Germany’s most accredited poets.
Continue reading “Who is Cornelia Goethe?”
Today wasn’t Theresa’s best day. I feel for her. So much work, so much countenance, so much s** from every fricking opinion corner in the last three years. And then it seems to amount to just one thing: There, in all of the UK newspapers. And you are in tears. Continue reading “Brexit Schmexit”