Cathy's Art Diary

Interesting outdoor exhibition in St James Park to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War. This used lovely photographs by Michael St Maur Sheil of the landscape affected by the war to talk about issues raised by the conflict. It was beautifully arranged so that as you looked along the displays you saw a line of the pictures but each was accompanied by excellent explanations of each of the areas of the war and common themes it raised. I thought I knew a lot about the First World War but even I learnt new things from this such as the fact that the plastic surgeon Sir Harold Giles who worked at Sidcup to rebuilt men’s faces was a cousin of Sir Archibald McIndoe who did similar work in the Second World War with pilots injured by fire. Also that the Save the Children Fund was founded in 1919 to raise money for children in Central Europe and the Indian government lent Britain money to fund the war. This was the last in a series of touring exhibitions. I rememb...

Really good outdoor exhibition in St James Park of photographs by Michael St Maur Sheil of what First World War battle fields look like now. Michael is a photo journalist and a battle field guide. The photographs were really beautiful and it was fascinating to see the scars which can still be seen in the landscape. My favourite was one of Tyne Cot cemetery in the snow and there was a fabulous one of trees reflected in water in the base of a German artillery turntable. However the exhibition was much more than this. Each picture had not only a commentary on the scene but also succinct pieces which built up to a really good history of the war. As a First World War geek   it had something about everything! You think of a subject within a couple of stands you’d find something! It also showed aspects of the war which I had not known about such as the fact there was fighting in Kenya. There were also nice piece on yellow background telling the stories of local people. T...