Cultural

  • Inspiring artist: Per Kirkeby

    Inspiring artist: Per Kirkeby

    When I visited the Danish National Gallery (Statens Museum for Kunst) in Copenhagen in 2010 I enjoyed seeing the work of the great Danish painter and sculptor Per Kirkeby for the first time. He was in good company, with powerful examples of Baselitz and Munch nearby and powerful examples of Danish expressionism. The building and…

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  • Bruce Peter’s Grand Ferry Tour of Japan

    Bruce Peter’s Grand Ferry Tour of Japan

    My good friend Bruce Peter (academic at Glasgow School of Art and design and maritime journalist) is recently returned to Scotland after three weeks of travel in Japan, sailing on 31 ferries and other ships (even the typhoon couldn’t dent his packed schedule), and taking some cracking photos in the process. He has started to…

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  • Depth of Reflection – notes on David Lynch and Dogen

    Depth of Reflection – notes on David Lynch and Dogen

    I made this small visual note after running along the Firth and Forth Canal, the reflections can be so deep, somehow reality is deepened. The space is literally deeper, becoming set further away, almost elusively in another time… …colour and shape so dense, tinged with toned down silvers, greens – the poignant reality untouchable yet…

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  • Remembrance message to Japan one year since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

    Remembrance message to Japan one year since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

    11th of March 2011 One year on, we wish to express our warmest wishes from Scotland, UK, to you all in Japan, and especially to the people of Tohoku – we deeply admire and are inspired by your bravery, dignity and determination. Pages from Yahoo Japan, about the earthquake and people’s response Shovel Brigade –…

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  • Cooking some winter Japanese food

    Cooking some winter Japanese food

    After some Tenzo cooking duties at New Year have been using genmai brown rice more for experimenting with filling chahan dishes, plus simple miso shiru soups like tofu and spring onion. You are going to need miso and katsuo dashi fish stock for that and some mirin, sake optional (but great to drink hot with…

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