London in 2058

We had to be down near Tate Modern for 6:00 P.M. today, and enjoyed a rather lazy Saturday before heading down that way late this afternoon. The colour on the side of this building struck us both as relatively new,

and I always enjoy the way the bulbs in this light installation change colour and intensity from moment to moment, but one photo doesn't really show these transitions, so you'll just have to use your imagination!

Since we arrived early, we decided to pop into Tate Modern to see the new installation that fills part of its Turbine Hall. The premise of Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster's TH.2058 is that it's part of an apocalyptic London fifty years in the future, when the city is besieged by continuous rain and high humidity that necessitates the closure of museums (all that art can't survive the humidity) and the treatment of books with anti-mould coatings in an attempt to save what literature still exists. In Gonzalez-Foerster's vision, the rain also has an unexpected effect "on urban sculptures. As well as erosion and rust, they have started to grow like giant, thirsty tropical plants, to become even more monumental. In order to hold this organic growth in check, it has been decided to store them in the Turbine Hall, surrounded by hundreds of bunks that shelter – day and night – refugees from the rain." This storage/ refugee area is just beyond the green and red plastic curtains:

The larger-than-normal sculptures loom over the beds,

making the space unnervingly chaotic--there's no sense of rest here!

The books that lie on many of the beds wouldn't provide much escapism for the refugees:

Neither would the continuously running film,

comprised of clips dealing with death, destruction, and, yes, rain.

Thankfully, it wasn't 2058 rain-sodden London outside the Turbine Hall, and we left the installation to head toward our meeting point. Just after we left the building, I noticed this odd sign proclaiming this to be a "roly poly stop":

The sign was stamped with the insignia of the Royal College of Art, so it must be some sort of art installation meant to mimic London bus signs. Perhaps participants are supposed to roll their way along the Thames, heading (as the sign directs) toward the Globe Theatre from here? We looked around for other clues, but the details remain a mystery because it was time to head to Bankside Pier to join our free Thames boat cruise being put on in conjunction with Drift 08, a series of art installations temporarily sited in and around the Thames. While the cruise could have been better tied in with the art on display, any opportunity to get on the water is always fine with us, and it was nice to spend 45 minutes on the Thames as the sun set. Margaret Evangeline's steel "painting" Saved from Drowning was like a shiny, bobbing pellet in the river:

Keith Bowler's Ghost Bridge was supposed to be one of the sights visible from our boat, but the light installation hadn't yet been switched on when we passed by the old Blackfriars bridge supporting posts:

As the sky darkened, the buildings along the Thames started to come alive.

With the London Eye in sight, we turned around and headed east

all the way to Tower Bridge, where we paused before turning around again.

After the cruise ended, we walked toward Waterloo Bridge, and noticed that the Ghost Bridge installation was now lit up:

In spite of this evening's art, this was definitely the most fascinating sight we spotted along the Thames tonight: