What wall?

So I made it to the wall, The Great Wall, here's a picture to prove it...


I know... cliche picture, but these things have to be done!

I figured this was better than posting a picture-perfect-postcard-image, and my Mum wanted to see a picture of me...

Been out and about!

It's a lot of fun here so far. The locals are all really friendly and even though there is a language barrier my charades is getting really good, and a big smile gets you a long way!

I've been out and about exploring Beijing and there is still so much more to see and do. I've taken thousands of photos, and I mean literally thousands! It will take quite some time to sieve through them all. I've managed to get to some places that I probably shouldn't have been... I just keep walking (looking like I know what I am doing) until someone stops me, or at least gestures that I shouldn't be there! We (me and and a couple of other artists) got into the construction site of the CCTV (Rem Koolhaas's new building), we took a walk along the railway tracks... all the locals were doing it, and it was the only way across the river (although the police didn't like us taking pictures), and we went to the top of a building due for demolition; we were trying to get a good view of the Koolhaas building, but the windows looked out the wrong way! I've been to the underground city, which is a maze of tunnels that Mao had built in anticipation of Russia. No pictures were allowed, but the guy didn't say anything about video!!!

The Hutongs (the lanes) are full of character and have the feeling of a film set; where it seems that at every corner you turn there is a stage set up, with props in place. Many Hutongs are being flattened to make room for new skyscrapers... ideal places for drawing!!!


Here is a video of the Olympic site as I passed it on the bus...hope it's ready for August!



I've been making many drawings, which when I get around to it I will photograph and add to the blog thing... but for the meantime I'm also finding myself also doing video. Here's a picture of how my studio looks now (there are drawings on the walls, you just can't see them). In case you are wondering... that is a projector next to the computer, it's balancing there projecting on the celling!

Firecrackers...

There is still a background noise of firecrackers, remnants from the New Year celebrations. The village was like a war-zone on Wednesday night (for the year of the rat)! The recycling effort was impressive... soon enough, the guys with the three wheel bikes were around collecting the cardboard packaging for recycling. I'm pretty sure the environmental side of recycling the leftover fireworks was not at the forefront of the their mind. Making a few Yuan seems to be a bigger incentive!

Beijing!

So here I am! It's taken me a while to post anything to this blog, as it appears there is a block on blogs (amongst other websites) here in China. I think I can post to the page, but I can't view it at all! So I don't know if this will work, or how it will look, but I'm giving it a go anyway......

Here is a quick catch-up of the past week

This is my studio/apt, my bike & me

My studio is on the edge of Beijing in one of 9 big artists communities, it's a gated community. The village is surreal!!! And I mean REALLY surreal, can't really explain why, it just is. Here are a few pictures taken, at dusk in the near by market, on my first day here...





All in all it's true what they say about the air being bad in Beijing. It's not just due to the massive amount of chain smoking that seems to be a way of life, but all of the coal burning. There is this funny smell in the air, at first I couldn't quite work out what it was. Then the handyman stuck his head in my studio and said they have just topped up my furnace with coal so it would be much warmer in the studio soon. Sure enough it's hot in here now. But that smell is coal burning, and they burn it everywhere. I imagine it's like the great smog in London. There seems to be a haze in the air and apparently today is a clear day!!!! Also too many trees were chopped down and now the sand blows in from the Gobi desert. I had been told about the 'Beijing dust', I understand now, it's just in the air.

Looking over the Forbidden City (on a clear & sunny day)!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year...of the Rat!


New Year, new resolutions... I get a second chance this year! I didn't make any resolutions in January, but had I.... I would just be remaking them now after breaking them the first time around!

Decorated doors for the new year.