Seeing London Upside Down - Carsten Höller's "Decision" on the Southbank

Over the course of the past few weeks, our family has visited Carsten Höller's "Decision" - an art exhibition on the Southbank, London. Mum and I visited first, and Robert and dad visited about a week later, as we thought they would really enjoy it. "Decision" is a major art exhibition intended to made the visitor think about decisions and perception, and is full of interactive exhibits to really involve the visitor.

 

[caption id="attachment_1712" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Höller's Isometric Slides spiralling down the Southbank Centre[/caption]

As soon as we put our coats away, mum and I had an immediate choice to make - should we enter via door A or door B? Mum and I chose door A, and entered into a metal tunnel, which started out light but gradually got very dark. Holding hands, mum and I navigated the tunnel by feeling around for walls in front of us, and eventually made it out into a much brighter room. The tunnel had made us disoriented, and we had no idea where we were in the building.

The first room we entered was completely filled by a mushroom-shaped mobile, where the mushrooms were vertically cut in half, and stuck back together upside down. Mum cautiously pushed the mobile, making it turn around the room. The mushrooms bobbed up and down and it was cool to push and pull it in different directions, but it wasn't very interesting.

[caption id="attachment_1723" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The mushroom mobile[/caption]

I liked the next exhibit much better - the pill clock is a giant mound of pills, and one drops from the ceiling every three seconds. This was impressive, but mum and I were quite freaked out when the security guard went up to us and said that we could eat one! This was a difficult decision to make, and eventually decided to give it a go, as long as the guard ate one along with us. The pills were filled with flour, and I liked being able to interact with the "clock".

[caption id="attachment_1713" align="alignnone" width="1200"] The giant mound of pills formed by the pill clock[/caption]

The exhibition was full of lots of unique and interesting things to see and do. I was especially excited to see "The Forests" - a dual screen video watched using a VR headset. I had never used a VR headset before, so I was really looking forward to doing so. You slip it over your head and put the headphones on, and the image changes when you turn your head; just like in real life.

The film starts with you going through a forest full of trees and snow, but soon enough, it starts changing. One eye starts travelling down one path, while another goes down a different one. Höller is "trying to break that hierarchy, or even dictatorship if you want to call it that, of the single image." This was a strange experience, and it was really weird to see two different films at once. Although it was exciting to wear the headset, I felt that it was a bit slow and boring, and the images were quite grainy.

[caption id="attachment_1714" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Wearing the VR headsets[/caption]

Upstairs, there was a lot to see and do. There were large dice for children to climb into, games to play and mirrors all around the walls. We found the source of the pill clock - a large glass box full of the pills, and enjoyed looking at "Twins". This was a hallway with seven pairs of identical twins on television screens, who were saying seemingly contradictory sentences to each other. At first, mum and I thought that they were the same person, but eventually figured out the small differences between them! The exhibition booklet describes this as a "complex listening puzzle", and I thought it was really interesting.

[caption id="attachment_1717" align="alignnone" width="1200"] There were large dice for the children to climb into![/caption]

The exhibit I took part in next was one that I had been looking forward to most - the Flying Machines! It was a relatively quiet day when we went, but the queue was still an hour long. Mum and I decided to wait, but about forty minutes in, it started to rain! This meant that the queue was moved inside and the machines stopped working. After encountering a particularly rude member of staff who didn't listen to us and started arguing with mum, it was finally time to go back outside and get strapped up.

[caption id="attachment_1718" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Flying![/caption]

I stepped into a blue full body harness, which had loops attached to my feet and various areas on my back. I climbed onto the steps, and a man slipped metal rings into the loops on the harness. I was apprehensive when he asked me to "just push off", but felt very secure when I did so. It was exhilarating to be suspended above London and I did feel like I was flying, except for the slow speed! My go went on for about three minutes, and I really liked spinning above the busy road and the rest of the queue.

Funnily enough, it was quite relaxing! There is a video below of me "flying" on the machine:

[kad_youtube url="https://youtu.be/QG0MaGoVGok?list=PL21MnxVphOzI2A8wn1ejWBYSXpgwMIkGw" width=200 height=100 ]

Next, we tried on Upside Down Goggles, which were my favourite part of the visit. This was a strange headset with a mirror, which makes everything look as though it is upside down. This was hilarious - mum and I really struggled to walk properly, and we had to guide each other in the right direction! It was really cool to see the London Eye and other elements of the skyline upside down, and it was so weird to walk and look around.

[caption id="attachment_1720" align="alignnone" width="1200"] London looked crazy upside down![/caption]

The Isometric Slides was the last part of the trip. These two metal slides wrap around the building, and juxtapose with the brutalist architecture. Although I was too much of a wimp to go down the slides, Robert loved it. He said that it was fun because it was fast, and he loved sliding all the way down the building. Höller says that a slide is both "a sculpture you can travel inside" and a "device for experiencing a unique condition between delight and madness". I thought that it was interesting that such a novel form of entertainment could be considered art.

[caption id="attachment_1711" align="alignnone" width="675"] Robert loved hurtling down the Isometric Slides![/caption]

Overall, we had such a great time at Carsten Höller's "Decision exhibition. I loved going on the flying machines and walking around while seeing everything upside down. Although one man was really rude, everyone else was really helpful and friendly. We talked to someone afterwards who was extremely nice to us and even treated us to a hot chocolate! She didn't even know that we were going to write about the exhibition afterwards...

Even though I walked out of the exhibition confused about how Höller's works were art, they did cause me to consider the decisions that we have to make every day, and the line between art and performance. Perhaps the meaning of art is to provoke interesting thoughts about the world around you, while enjoying it at the same time? If this is so, Höller has certainly achieved it.

We think Decision, by Carsten Höller is an exhibition which the whole family will enjoy. It is on at the Hayward Gallery in the Southbank Centre until the 6th of September. Tickets are £15, concessions are £11 and seniors are £13. Tickets can be booked here. The minimum height for the Isometric Slides is 120cm, and the minimum age for the Flying Machines is 14. 

Höller is also the man picked to turn the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the giant sculpture at the Olympic Park, into a slide!

More by us:

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich (by Robert)

Playing Games at The National Video Game Arcade!

London from up high at the London Eye

London is (in my unbiased opinion as a life-long Londoner) one of the most wonderful cities in the world. It is both beautiful and liveable, and full of so many things to do and see.

I’m often taken by how many ways there are to enjoy the sights of London, on tours by foot, bus, taxi, or boat. I think it’s particularly enjoyable to see cities from up high and we have enjoyed London’s views from The Shard and the top of the Monument among other landmarks. We would also recommend climbing to the summit of Primrose Hill for a free way to see the city in all its glory.

[caption id="attachment_1528" align="alignnone" width="940"] It was a beautiful day when we went - we were very lucky![/caption]

But although he had been to all of those places, Robert had long aspired to a visit to the London Eye (or to give it its full name, the Coca Cola London Eye). I wasn’t sure if we needed to see those same views of The Thames and Westminster again, but I’m glad to say that I was wrong. We loved our trip on the Eye, and I think that’s because of its extra-special ingredient: it moves.

The London Eye is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, one of my favourite places to frequent, as you can have a great walk here, going past the South Bank Centre and the National Theatre, past Gabriel’s Wharf, and on under Blackfriar’s Bridge, past the Globe Theatre and Tate Modern until you come to Borough Market and London Bridge (and the Golden Hind, the Clink and more). You will really see a lot of London this way and of course you can stop on the way. It’s quite a lengthy stroll.

But back to the Eye. The South Bank is both lovely, and extremely busy, especially around the area where the Eye is situated. This is partly because it’s also very near the Aquarium, London Dungeons and Westminster (just across the river). It’s also right by Jubilee Gardens, a lovely children’s playground, which is perfect for running off steam afterwards. And there are lots of places to eat nearby.

As it is, let’s be honest, what is politely known as a “tourist trap”, there are always queues, so think about booking your tickets in advance, not least because you will often find online offers which may make it more palatable. The only problem with this is that you might end up with bad weather. You could also buy a fasttrack ticket to bypass most of the queue. However, this will cost you £9 more person. You may also find other 2 for 1 offers if you look around (if you go online, there are various sites which offer money off vouchers, so it’s worth taking a look). The queues are not always mad though, especially if you go outwith peak times (so early or late).

The Eye is not cheap. However, I do think it is worth it. It stands 137m high (it's the fifth highest structure in London) and gives you views of around 25 miles. Tickets are sold in half hour slots starting from 10am.

We were blessed with gorgeous weather when we went. We didn’t have to wait for long and climbed into our pod with around 20 other people. The capsules are beautifully designed and there is a definite sense of space in them. You can walk around easily and see all the different viewpoints without much trouble. The pods (or gondolas as they are supposed to be known) also contain a number of iPads which tell you which buildings are which, and the kids on our journey particularly loved these (probably because they soon got enough of the views).

[caption id="attachment_1530" align="alignnone" width="940"] Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament[/caption]

However, we loved the sights, even the ones of Westminster and Big Ben (again). It was particularly enjoyable going up and suddenly seeing The Shard, which had been hidden behind other buildings until we got high enough. We also saw Buckingham Palace and the guards at Horseguards Parade at one point. Then it was fun going down again and realising you couldn’t see everything anymore! We also saw buildings as far away as Wembley Stadium

[caption id="attachment_1531" align="alignnone" width="940"] The guards[/caption]

The “journey” on the London Eye is quite quick – just half an hour (which means you will have to have plans for afterwards). It’s not fast (you need to warn any thrill seeking children of this) but it is fun.

After our trip we went into the visitor centre to watch the 4D adventure and I have to say we were pleasantly surprised. It showed you a pigeon’s eye view of London (!) and made me really proud of my home city. The effects were pretty cool too, even though it only lasted five minutes.

[caption id="attachment_1532" align="alignnone" width="940"] Standing outside a pod after our visit[/caption]

All in all, we really enjoyed our trip. We know that people will have gripes because it’s not cheap and it doesn’t last for that long. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it if you want a terrific way to see London - from a different perspective.

The London Eye costs £23 for adults (this means 16+) and £17 for kids if booked online (under 4s are free). It’s open every day until 9.30pm, and also open late on Friday evenings during the summer (until 11.30pm, which sounds like fun). It’s located by County Hall, London SE1 (right by The Thames).

The nearest tube stations are Westminster and Waterloo.

Read about our trip up the Monument to the Fire of London

Read about our Harry Potter London walking tour

 

Backstage at the National Theatre (by Robert)

Many people have been to the National Theatre in London to see some shows or plays but not many people have seen what happens behind the three theatres, the Olivier, Lyttelton and Dorfmon where the sets are made, the costumes created and the actors rest in their dressing rooms.

The National Theatre is the original host of War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Treasure Island and more, and it hosted Mum and me for a backstage tour with a lovely Welsh Magician called Christopher.

We started in the Lyttelton Theatre which is not the biggest and not the smallest. It holds 890 seats and has 600 lights. We had a chat about the theatre and these are some of my favourite facts about the shows that have been performed in it:

• The show Way Up Stream used a big tank full of water as part of the set. Unfortunately this burst once in rehearsals, wetting the whole of the stage and the front row!


• In the show Light Shining in Buckinghamshire one scene involves the actors eating oysters. These oysters are actually fake and were filled with mashed potato. This meant the actors had to eat four portions of mashed potato every night.


• Also in Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, the cast have a food fight with real food including turkey, chocolate and vegetables.

[caption id="attachment_1382" align="aligncenter" width="768"] You can see that no dressing room is numbered 13![/caption]

Next we went backstage and looked at the dressing rooms. There are four blocks of the rooms on each floor with 13 in a block. All the dressing rooms are numbered but being superstitious about unlucky 13 they made the numbering 0-12 instead of 1-13. So one actor rests in room 0.

One funny thing I learnt was that, as the National Theatre is so big, Julie Walters got lost before going onto the stage. The crew had to put black tape on the floor going from Julie’s dressing room to the stage. This distance takes two minutes to walk.

My favourite bit was going backstage for real with the set and the props.

The first thing I saw when I walked down the stairs was a giant lift that could bring ten tonnes of lighting, sound, set, costumes and people up 25m to the stage in just 40-45 seconds. I also learnt about the other two theatres, the Olivier, which has 1100 seats and 900 lights, and the smallest theatre the Dorfman, with 454 seats and 300 lights. Then I got to handle props.

[caption id="attachment_1383" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Robert loved trying out the props![/caption]

They had everything from fake hands to flamingos, the Cat in the Hat’s hat to a pan full of spaghetti. I loved looking, holding and even wearing the props. One thing Christopher told me was that it cost too much to make 17 big expensive polar bears for one show, so the audience had to imagine half of the costume.

I saw a set being made with saws and hammers and then I got to a board. Under where it said “name” there were various actors’ names and then there was a section where it said something silly that they had to do on stage to make it funny for the audience. If they did that they got a point. An example was “tell rubbish jokes until another actor laughs”, or “sing a song until someone compliments you”. Some were really strange like pretend to cry in the corner until an actor tries to comfort you. What a great system. It’s currently in use in the play Rules for Living.

I learnt some more things backstage like:

• There are five rooms just for props


• All fake facial and body hair is made from the chest hair of a Yak. Eurgh.


• And when the crew or actors had a break they would play the Simpsons Board Game or watch the Lion King.

[caption id="attachment_1384" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Robert gripping a fake hand![/caption]

Finally for the last part of the tour we went into the Dorfman theatre. There I learnt that the seats could fold into the floor and the stage could be on the opposite side of the room. I also found out that nearly all the set for the show on at the moment (the Hard Problem) was bought from IKEA.

It was a fantastic day and I loved every moment of the tour.

The National Theatre runs regular backstage tours for individuals and groups, at a cost of £9 per person. They also run special tailored backstage tours for families in half-terms and holidays. Tickets cost £8.50 per adult, with up to three children going free. Tours last around an hour (although ours was probably nearer an hour and a half!)

More by us on London

The Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London

A chocolate walking tour in London

 

 

Beanotown: the Dennis the Menace festival (by Robert)

 

The Dennis the Menace festival (officially called Beanotown) is on until September the 8th. It celebrates 75 years of the Beano and Dennis and Gnasher, two of the most well known comic characters in the country!

In the festival you can dress up as your favourite characters and get pictures of them, you can shoot evil baddies with your special nerf gun like you are Banana Man (but nearly all of the guns were broken ) and you can experience going inside Dennis' treehouse with its own unique style of wall paper (your drawing).

You can read Dennis and Gnasher albums going back to the 1960s and, in the shop, you can buy comics, clothes, pranks, videos and games, some which Dennis might have had himself.



There were two toilets, and these were both very funny because Dennis tells jokes while you're in them. One toilet is normal just with Dennis saying jokes but the other one has been stink bombed by Minnie and Dennis so watch out for that unpleasant surprise.

If you draw a picture about Dennis, Gnasher or any other character, it will be displayed on the wall and if you write down a good enough joke it will be shown in one of the Beano comic books.

I think this is a great day out for all the family and I guarantee that if you go there you will laugh at least once, but probably more.

To see more about the Beano, visit their website 

To find out more about the Beanotown festival, visit their website.

 

Read more by Robert - our visit to Cadbury World.

Beanotown: the Dennis the Menace festival (by Robert)

The Dennis the Menace festival (officially called Beanotown) is on until September the 8th. It celebrates 75 years of the Beano and Dennis and Gnasher, two of the most well known comic characters in the country!

In the festival you can dress up as your favourite characters and get pictures of them, you can shoot evil baddies with your special nerf gun like you are Banana Man (but nearly all of the guns were broken ) and you can experience going inside Dennis' treehouse with its own unique style of wall paper (your drawing).

You can read Dennis and Gnasher albums going back to the 1960s and, in the shop, you can buy comics, clothes, pranks, videos and games, some which Dennis might have had himself.

Read more »