A Capsule in Time

Still way behind - Wednesday’s entry! Gradually catching up …..

Final morning in London, and time to pop over to the Serpentine Pavillion and Gallery in Hyde Park. 

This year’s pavillion is A Capsule in Time designed by the Dhaka-based architect Marina Tabassum. G is very dismissive of it, likening it to something he would make  (a gross overestimation of his skills!) I rather like it. Inspired by the ever-changing landscape of the Bengal Delta, the ephemeral nature of the structure - only existing for five months - represents how ‘archecture becomes memories of lived spaces’. Of course, there’s lots of information about this piece, if you want to know more! 

https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/serpentine-pavilion-2025-by-marina-tabassum/

Inside, we discover the work of Giuseppe Penone - ‘Thoughts in the Roots’.  I love these small galleries. They’re interesting and manageable  - it’s so easy to feel overwhelmed when there’s room after room to view. The focus here is on our interaction  with nature - particularly trees and the rooms even smell of wood and dried leaves, continuing outside with Penone’s tree sculptures.

‘The exhibition embodies the key principles of Penone’s work, namely the synergy between artistic and natural process, and the poetic relationship between humans and the environment. Through a series of sculptures and installations, visitors will encounter the delicate yet powerful ways in which Penone reveals nature’s hidden structures, rhythms, and gestures.’

We’re due to leave on the 2.00pm train, but learn that there is severe disruption due to emergency services dealing with what is euphemistically called an ‘incident’ near Milton Keynes. Euston is horrendous, overflowing with passengers some of whom have been waiting for hours. Our train is cancelled, and the one an hour later looks as if it’s heading the same way. Eventually, we get on a Manchester train which will take us to Crewe - amazed that we actually get seats. At Crewe, we’re relived a direct train appears which is infinitely preferable to squeezing onto the two carriages arriving to take us on to Chester. 

We finally arrive home over two hours late, too late for me to go to the photography workshop I’ve booked for this evening. I know - crazy to add this to our hectic programme, but it’s a dance and movement one that I’ve been wanting to do for ages! Anyway, it means we can unpack, sort out washing and collapse in front of the television watching the last episodes of Untamed. 

It’s been a wonderful few days! 

My main and first extras are views of the Sepentine Pavillion - A Capsule in Time,  followed by shorts of both internal and external exhibits in Thoughts in the Roots.