Rough Guide theory task

*Brixston*

I went to Brixton Market in south London.  There were over 200 stalls open for the day.

They have different shops and outdoor stalls as in other similar markets. Stalls include ones with fruits, vegetables, and butchers. A few blocks away, they have little restaurants and beautiful cafes with a variety of food including organic

This market has been going for nearly a hundred years. However, about two years ago a lot of this was quite empty. These days, the shops and stalls try to offer more variety in order to attract more people to the market.

 My first impression of Brixton was that it was an interesting place. When looking at the outdoor shops I’ve seen similar places in my country(in Korea).  There are some similar places in a particular street. On the other hand, Brixton has a stronger influences from abroad( which I think could be Jamaican or African). Brixton village is my main focus for research as they’ve got lovely small shops in there. All the shops are decorated differently. They all have different concepts. Examples include, a lovely sweet candy shop, some Africa or Jamaican style clothes shop, and photo studios. Some shops are making art work by using recycled materials. 

 I met someone who owns a Fish & Chip shop. When I walked in Brixton village I was amazed when I saw a wall painting in the shop. So I asked the owner who painted it and It was painted by her husband. It looks like the colours and textures apparent when light hits a fish bowl making it attractive and very colorful. It was as if the fish bowl sparkled as it caught the light.

 I chose some items to research One of things that stood out was that in all the outdoor and even indoor shops the products were organised with pinpoint accuracy.(even vegetables and fruits). It made everything seem attractive. When I saw this I thought it was like the fruit and vegetables were waiting in their positions for the customers to choose them. The plantains with just their heads popping up reminded me of empty egg cases.

When I waked through Brixton’s small streets and alleys I saw some fantastic graffiti and some advertisements stuck on walls .Something popped in my mind when I saw that. I thought that some artists could be using one side of the wall as their studio. They stick some notes or some drawings on the wall to remind them of their ideas.  This was making me feel free and energetic, so I was never bored during my walk. There is an ambience of positivity and freedom surrounding the market. 
 Some shops use recycled items in order to create new works. When we prepare a new space, the most important thing is the light, because however perfectly decorated a place is if the light or brightness does not match its surroundings it won’t look attractive. 

 I liked many things but the most attractive were some beautiful chandeliers on a high ceiling in Brixton Village.The shape was similar to oriental or asian style. I looked at it carefully and was most interesting was that It  was made of a variety lampshades stuck together , some were even stuck opposite to each other. It used many colours , different fabrics and shapes. The designs were all different. It reminded me of Asia because some of  the lampshades looked like a Chinese red lantern shape. I thought those chandeliers were an incredibly good idea. In addition I felt that they were a good match to Brixton Village with its vibrant colors and atmosphere as although they didn’t have traditional chandelier elements they still didn’t look cheap.




*Andre Penteado's exhibition at Photofusion*

 When I did my research in Brixton I went to Andre Penteado’s exhibition at Photofusion in Brixton. He is a Brazilian photographer.  The title was “Dad’s Hangers”. He was inspired after his father’s suicide. When I saw his photos, I didn’t understand what he wanted to say about using the hangers.. It was nothing interesting, it was just hangers. However he wanted to talk about identity by using hangers. We guess people’s identity by hoe they dress. We can even recognize their occupation or judge their personality. His message was that hangers were not just hangers, but they were used to put his father’s clothes on that showed his father’s identity. I saw someone express identity through the use of a symbol related to clothes, however it could even go deeper than that and have several interpretations.