On the embankment today, outside Tate Modern: a bike, a couple, a very large bag. I was visiting the Lubaina Himid exhibition again, with a couple of old friends. 'Spooky', one said - we discussed the ambiguities and how the artist opens the space with questions, and how she offers hope through communities holding on to their stories and cultures. The 'blue' room was a favourite - the eye-level line of the horizon, tesselated with blue designs and stretched across the recycled piano and other musical instruments. The vocal accompaniment - 'midnight', 'baby', 'ultramarine', 'cobalt', 'bleu de Prusse' - drew on cultural associations. Other favourites were the undulating wall of planks, washed by the sound of the sea - and the immigrant voices in the last room: "I am Olabisi. They call me John. I used to make boats. Now I make boots. People thank me." |