Four&Sons
Dogs and
culture collide
Bon appetit
I am slightly ashamed to confess I just learnt the world-famous restaurant elBulli owns its name to the French bulldogs (‘bullies’) the founders of the establishment owned back in the 1960s. It all finally became clear visiting the exhibition Ferran Adrià i elBulli: Risc, llibertat i creativitat (Ferran Adrià and elBulli: Risk, Freedom and Creativity) currently showing in Barcelona.
The emphasis of the exhibition is on Ferran Adrià’s talent and inventiveness and the ground-breaking gastronomy his team delivered; it explores Adrià’s creative approach and philosophy, even his popularity with the masses (Matt Groening of The Simpsons fame immortalised him). The exhibition also covers the restaurant’s 50-year lifespan chronologically (from its first incarnation as a beach bar to the three Michelin star restaurant most of us know about). The history lesson was the most fascinating part, plenty of memorabilia and anecdotes are thrown around (did anyone know in the early years guests used to arrive by boat?) which makes the ‘legend’ more palatable (no pun intended).
No need to be a foodie to enjoy this exhibition, just curiosity. One word of advice, don’t go hungry.
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Currently held at Palau Robert in Passeig de Gracia, the exhibition will travel to London and New York in 2013.
For more information, visit the exhibition site
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Best in show
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The look of love
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From dogs and cats, to owls and tarantulas, Tobias Lang’s photographic series
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Keith Haring
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Sweet dreams are made of this
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Dead Dog Beach
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Photographer Sophie Gamand’s world had been filled with bedazzled silk dresses and feathered hats until she ventured into Dead Dog Beach, Puerto Rico. This is her heartfelt account of the experience informing her work to this day.
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One Day In History
Norwegian photographer Andrea Gjestvang wins the Sony World Photography Award for her moving collection of portraits of surviving teenagers of the Utoya massacre. Fifteen-year-old Iselin Rose Borc (featured) recalls: “In the period after Utoya I had a really hard time sleeping. I was afraid of the dark and suffered dreadful nightmares. My mom and I decided that getting a dog might help me, so I got Athene. Now she sleeps on top of my stomach every night.” That’s why they are called man’s best friend.
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