Linda in Wanderland

Ever the flâneur, a person who wanders through a city in order to experience it, I was excited to recently visit the Hermès Wanderland exhibition when it was in Dubai.

Having made its debut in the Saatchi Gallery in London, the traveling exhibition which showcases flânerie,  moved to Paris where it could be seen in a building on the left bank of the Seine. In Dubai, it was a floating exhibition in the Burj Lake near the Dubai fountain. The exhibition was outstanding allowing visitors to explore its magical arcades.   

My last two blogs were about arriving and departing.  Since I wrote them I have done much traveling, and as a result much wandering.  

In Portugal I walked the streets of Lisbon in search of its famous trams and street art.

 

Elevador da Bica

 

The face of Portuguese fado singer, Amália Rodrigues, in cobblestones, by the street artist Alexandre Farto, also known as Vhils. The other artwork I found by him can be seen on my Instagram account.  

Visiting Canada, it was wonderful to walk with my grandson at his pace and behold every little wonder along the way.  

On a short visit to Rome for the opening of Tutte le Strade I spent an early morning wandering the Via Cavour. As I turned a corner I came across an Ethiopian festival. 

Mesmerized I began to click away using my slow-shutter photography technique on my iPhone.  Since returning to Abu Dhabi, I have been working on a new series based on the images I captured that day. I hope to be able to share this project with you all soon. 

In Germany I wandered the streets of Munich.  We lived there for three years, but on every visit I still find places I have not seen before. On one of my strolls this time round, I was drawn to a window exhibiting the piece “Unendlichkeit” (translated “Infinity”) by sculptor Hajo Forster.  Stepping inside the entrance hall of the Hofgarten Palais, I was confronted by the beauty of his piece “Harmonie”

Harmonie

On yet another morning, we went off to find Munich’s infinite staircase by Ólafur Elíasson.

 

Umschreibung

I have been a fan for some time now of Ólafur's work so it was wonderful to see this piece.  You can find out more about him and his art on Artsy. 

Back in Abu Dhabi, I have walked slowly through oases in Al Ain, always on the look out for wonder. 

 

In Dubai I attended a book signing by Roland Michaud. Roland and his wife Sabrina have spent most of their lives on the road, photographing remote parts of Asia and Africa.  He shared that ultimately you see yourself in the other. 

 

Along with all of this, I have visited many countries online, chatting to others in different parts of the world via various social media platforms.  I still look back on “Linda in Wonderland” written four years ago and know that this particular way of journeying never fails to amaze me. 

At the beginning of his talk Roland Michaud emphasized that nothing should be done in life without taking one’s time. 

I know that my mindfulness practice has helped me to keep a regulated pace and not fall into the habit of rushing. 

“Speed, whether online or offline, is a characteristic of the modern world.  The flâneur reminds us to set the pace of our own lives”.  Mindfulness and The Flâneur 

Flânerie always goes hand in hand with wonder. With Wanderland, the artistic director for Hermès wanted to create an exhibition that would embody what wandering is all about. 

“Guided by instinct, senses all alert, flâneurs watch passing moments intently, all the better to seize them.  Flâneurs garner, forage and gather. They unearth the unusual in the mundane, the unnoticed in the already seen, the distant in the near, the visible in the invisible.” Pierre-Alexis Dumas. 

“My hope is that people come to the show, maybe forget reality, and then look at their own city with new eyes.  We must never lose our ability to dream, to wander, to go with the flow and let ourselves be surprised”. Pierre-Alexis Dumas.