At that time I was resident in Guangzhou (Canton) and China was buzzing at the promise of the 4 Modernizations: Agriculture, Industry, Technology & Defence and the bright new future that lay ahead. 

Here's a little selection from my Canton archives. As you can see, some have lost their colour over the years. Belmondo in Canton Building the new face of ChinaOpp Martyrs Garden / Building the new face of China CreatorAmerican Color Feature film Detect pre-natal diseases, Canton 1984 Promoting Health Education after marriage Downtown Guangzhou 1984 - typical scene Canton- bicycles & blockbusters

Welcome to join the competitionMuscles Welcome to join the competitionMuscles Welcome to join the competitionMuscles Welcome to join the competitionMuscles

I’ve always been inspired by the Cyclades.

Writing with light? Let’s go to the Greek roots of the word photography - φωτός (phōtós), genitive of φῶς (phōs), "light" and γραφή (graphé)  writing - Photography -  Φωτογραφία.

How to explain the feeling I had of elation during my recent trip to Sifnos? Maybe Henri Cartier-Bresson, who’d photographed the island back in 1961 felt the same way? This is how he describes a photograph: 

“A photograph is neither taken or seized by force. It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you. One must not take photos.”

As Barbie was causing a sensation at box offices around the world, I discovered an alternative Barbie World in Santurce’s Calle San Juan.

Puerto Rico, August 2023

Alternative Barbie World Alternative Barbie World Alternative Barbie World Alternative Barbie World Alternative Barbie World Alternative Barbie World Alternative Barbie World Alternative Barbie World Alternative Barbie World Alternative Barbie World Alternative Barbie World Alternative Barbie World

I took the first photographs at the annual Fête de la Musique on 21 June. I started the evening at the wonderful "café associatif", Collective Parisienne  #collectiveparisienne in Paris's St Paul / le Marais district where Nancy Murillo and Juan Carlos Murcia entertained us with hits from the Fania All Stars days!

Then I attended a concert by rapper Eesah Yasuke organised by the Ministry of Culture at the Palais Royal. This was the first time I'd experienced a concert which gave priority to people with hearing impairments, low vision and those in wheelchairs, providing signers who interpreted the lyrics. 

On my way to the Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme where the group Assafir was to take us on a musical journey to Thessaloniki and Ioannina. Zig-zagging through the Marais I got sidetracked by the guys at the Rriad Bar before taking my place in the museum's Cour d'honneur for a concert featuring poignant songs of exile, heavily influenced by rembetiko! 

Sunday 24th brought a change of mood with the Ratha Yatra festival at La Chapelle in Paris. I continue my world travels in my home city!

Saris decorate ParisGanesh Festival 2022. The decorations are up and in just over an hour the 2022 Ganesh festival will get under way.

Waiting for the Ganesh Festival to startGanesh Festival 2022, Paris 28/08

Ready to go ...Ganesh Festival 2022, Paris 28/08

Sous le soleilYoung boy with flower offering for Ganesh

Young boy ready to carry the kavadiGanesh Festival 2022, 28/8 Boy having his kavadi fitted( wooden burden decorated with peacock feathers).

Child play before theGanesh festival gets under wayGanesh Festival, Sunday 28 August, 2022

Young devotees carrying kavadisGanesh Festival, Sunday 28 August, 2022 Young boys carry kavadis, wooden burden decorated with peacock feathers.

Kavadi bearer, Fête de Ganesh, ParisGanesh Festival, Sunday 28 August, Devotee carries a kavadi, wooden burden decorated with peacock feathers.

The Ganesh festival gets under wayGanesh Festival, Sunday 28 August, 2022

Musicians at Paris's annual Ganesh FestivalGanesh Festival, Sunday 28 August, 2022

Barefoot devoteesGanesh Festival, Sunday 28 August, 2022

Young woman carries earthen pot with fire on her headGanesh Festival, Sunday 28 August, 2022

Coconut smashing at Ganesh FestivalGanesh Festival, Sunday 28 August, 2022 Coconut smashing at today’s Ganesh Festival in Paris. In Hinduism, the coconut is the fruit of the gods. The breaking of coconuts symbolises breaking your ego and thus humbling yourself before the gods.. Cocunt smashing during Ganesh FestivalGanesh Festival, Sunday 28 August, 2022 Coconut smashing at today’s Ganesh Festival in Paris. In Hinduism, the coconut is the fruit of the gods. The breaking of coconuts symbolises breaking your ego and thus humbling yourself before the gods..

Hot summer weekend in Marseille. It could have been so easy to just ‘farniente’ on the beach but how could I visit  Marseille without a trip to its very heart and soul? This is the gritty, funky multicultural Noailles! Easily the closest you come to finding an Arabian souk this side of the Mediterranean.

Torn but still afloat

Shredded posters, where I least expected them. 

On the corner of rue de Rivoli and rue des Pyramides, in the heart of Paris. 

Divided, fragmented, never to be as before …

As always, I never touch, never tear ... I simply frame and shoot. 27/4/22

From the Fading Fast (2022) series

These photos were taken at last Tuesday’s Charshanbe Suri festival at the Canal St Martin in Paris.  The origins of this fire-jumping festivity most probably date back to Zororastrian times (2nd millennium BCE?) or perhaps even Ancient Babylonia.

It is believed that jumping over fire purifies then re-energises the body!

Photos © Brenda Turnnidge

organi

Fragments of life, passion and politics on the walls of Paris. 

As the year draws to an end, we're still under that Covid cloud.

For information, I keep to a strict rule,  never shred posters or deface walls, I just photograph them and frame them to my liking.

To be followed - à suivre ! 

Street & metro posters    June-December 2021

Bruno & Clementine at the BastilleDifferent worlds meet on the walls of Paris 11.

Palm trees Guy Moquet metroPalm trees in December ... I wish!

Burning Sun, Strasbourg St Denis métro

Let the Music Play, Opéra métro, Paris

The Africa 2020 girls at métro Strasbourg St Denis.Africa 2020 happened in 2021, somewhat like the Tokyo Olympics. From the Théâtre de la Ville, shedding obligé, the girls end up at the Casino de Paris

Flou dans la RueA blurred encounter on rue Thérèse, Paris 1

How can I fly?Grounded at the "Quartier des Grands Magasins", Paris

Paris s'emballe"Quartier des Grands Magasins", Paris

The Doomed CandidateIn the run-up to the 2022 Presidential Elections, young RN (far right) candidate Jordan Bardela is almost wiped out.

Covid KissMasked love in the times of Covid Buttes aux Cailles, Paris 13

Holding on to a loved one in the times of CovidButtes aux Cailles, Paris 13
 

You probably know of Notting Hill Carnival but have you heard of Paris’s Tropical Carnival which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year?

Covid restrictions forced the carnival off the streets and confined it to the Stade Charlety but at least it took place and was not cancelled like  last year.  

How we craved those tropical vibes & rhythms after long months of lockdown... Caporales Mi Viejo San SimonBolivia / carnaval Tropical 2021, Paris Ecole Davina SambaBrazil / carnaval Tropical 2021, Paris Samba School, Davina Samba/ carnaval Tropical 2021, Paris Performer, Caporales San Simon, CochabambaBolivia / carnaval Tropical 2021, Paris / carnaval Tropical 2021, Paris Davila's, Samba SchoolSamba / carnaval Tropical 2021, Paris Caporales San Simon, CochebambaBolivian performers / carnaval Tropical 2021, Paris BKBCarnaval Tropical 2021, Paris ADOMAdom / carnaval Tropical 2021, Paris Ethnick 97Carnaval Tropical de Paris TropikanaCarnaval Tropical, 2021 Les Danseuses d'OrGolden dancer/ carnaval Tropical 2021, Paris Les Danseuses d'OrCarnaval Tropical

Karibean MassMass / Carnaval Tropicale

Karnaval la sé sel médikaman nou ni - Carnival’s the only medicine we have!

Forever looking for messages on the walls, on the streets, in the métro … 

Either the messages have faded away or I can’t make sense of them …
Lockdown1Paris Marais Yellow & Blue Lockdown2Yellow in the Marais Lockdown3Métro Green Lockdown5Koudelka's exhibition at the BNF in lockdown. I never got to see it, who did? Lockdown6Strange bird in the métro Lockdown7Thirsty Lockdown8Lost in Lockdown Lockdown9Can we touch? Lockdown10Shattered Travel Dreams Lockdown11What time is it?

Times are even stranger as we enter the “Third Wave”. Fortunately parks are open and our latest “outdoor lockdown” encourages us to go out! The sakura season  has started in Kyoto-sur-Seine. HAPPY HANAMI!

PS Somehow, the pandemic is influencing the subjects I photograph ... I never imagined I'd be taking such classical photos!

Besides, I had this overwhelming urge to be elsewhere.
I love Paris, but these are strange times.

Fortunately, at the end of métro line 10 ... The magnificent Jardin Albert Kahn -

Jardin Albert Kahn 1Jardin Albert Kahn Jardin Albert Kahn 2Jardin Albert Kahn Jardin Albert Kahn 3Jardin Albert Kahn Jardin Albert Kahn 4 Jardin Albert Kahn 5Jardin Albert Kahn Jardin Albert Kahn 6Jardin Albert Kahn Jardin Albert Kahn 7Jardin Albert Kahn Jardin Albert Kahn 8Jardin Albert Kahn Jardin Albert Kahn 9 Jardin Albert Kahn 10Jardin Albert Kahn Jardin Albert Kahn 11 Jardin Albert Kahn 12 Jardin Albert Kahn 13 Jardin Albert Kahn 14 Jardin Albert Kahn 15 Jardin Albert Kahn 16 Jardin Albert Kahn 17 Jardin Albert Kahn 18Jardin Albert Kahn Jardin Albert Kahn 19 Jardin Albert Kahn 20 Jardin Albert Kahn 21 https://albert-kahn.hauts-de-seine.fr/le-jardin/histoire-d-une-oeuvre-arboree
 

Sorting through my archives, I came across a fresh new crop of mould art essentially from China and Hong Kong. Here’s an eclectic selection containing Eid Al Fitr greetings, fiery dragons, dragon boats and ... bananas!

MOULD ART : ORIGINAL PROJECT PRESS RELEASE

Since the early 1990’s, photographer Brenda Turnnidge has gained something of a reputation for her highly original hand-tinted photographs. 

Using traditional techniques, she hijacked her images adding an orange sky here and a blue field there infusing new life into her B & W prints. The result was quirky and contemporary. Meanwhile, deep in her 1980s Asian archives, chemicals beyond her control joined forces with nature and started “auto-tinting”. To Brenda’s surprise, her slides had accumulated layers of green and purple mould over the years.Tinting without trying. The result is often abstract and frequently an improvement on the original stock shot. Part of photography’s magical moments. Mould art had invented itself.

Happy Eid Al Fitr from China, 1984Could this be the Great Mosque in Xi'an? Sadly, I didn't label it at the time.Discovered in my archives complete with mould and sticky patch in centre. Dragon boats on Shing Mun River in Shatin, Hong KongOriginal photo 1985 - mould accumulated over the years. Fiery dragonOriginal photo 1985 - mould accumulated over the years. My neighbourhood, Fo Tan, ShatinOriginal photo 1985 - mould accumulated over the years. Dragon boat on the Shing Mun River, Shatin 1985Original photo 1985 - mould accumulated over the years. Uber-tropical bananasOriginal photo 1983 - mould accumulated over the years. Enter the DragonFiery mould dragon in the tropics Guangzhou's future in the pinkOriginal photo 1983 - mould accumulated over the years.

Shooting of Fred Cavayé's film, "Adieu Monsieur Haffmann" starring French actor Daniel Auteuil had started just before lockdown and will resume tomorrow with a script rewritten to take physical distancing into account. The film is due for release in January 2021.

Thanks to Mohammed for allowing me to take his photograph.

Another world, one of bicycles, and more bicycles, regulation Mao suits and early morning calm.

Looking back, I realise how privileged I was to have lived in China at that time and to have documented my every day life and travels in the "Middle Kingdom".

Following Mao Zedong's death in 1976, President Deng Xiao Ping set about transforming China into a modern state by launching his "4-modernisations" program to strengthen the sectors of agriculture, industry, technology and defence, thus opening up China's doors to the west. As a European, living in China in the 1980's, I was allowed to socialise with the Chinese, albeit under the watchful eye of party members.

This was indeed a unique moment in history, a turning point.  

At one time, in the late 1970s, there was a glimmer of hope that a 5th modernisation, that of democracy would be added ... but China remained "red".

For more photos on this theme, go to https://www.brenda-turnnidge.fr/p121308002 "When the East was Red".

Brenda Turnnidge, Paris April 2020

2. Chaoyang traditional dwellings, 1989The East was red 2. Chaoyang traditional dwellings, 1989 1. Couple in YueXiu Park, Canton 1980sCouple in YueXiu Park, Canton 1980s Original in "All Photographs". 3. Washing Day, Canton backstreetsOct 84 4. Canton traffic 1988Original in "All Photographs". 5. Lunch break for new arrivals looking for work at Canton statiLunch break for new arrivals looking for work at Canton station 6. Taking ducks to market, CantonTaking ducks to market, Canton 7. Morning exercisers, Canton 8. Canton, Reading newspapers in public8. China, Reading newspapers in public 9. Mao iwatches over Chengdu, 1986Mao iwatches over Chengdu, 1986 10. Cycling across Haizu BridgeJune 1984, Cycling across Haizu Bridge 11. Shantou junksShantou junks 1989 When the East was Red (Shantou)

Strange though it may seem, I was working on my Canton archives and in particular on photographs featuring markets when Coronavirus first broke out in January 2020.  It appears that the virus may have originated at a wet market in Wuhan where freshly killed animals, some "exotic", are sold as meat. Wet markets such as the one in Wuhan are still commonplace.

Back to my archives, these photos show scenes of live and freshly slaughtered animals being sold at the infamous Qingping Lu market in Canton in the 1980s soon after Deng Xiao Ping's Open Door policy. Many of these animals are endangered species.  Some of them feature in my photo book, “Canton”, ISBN 962-7160-06-7 published in 1987.

These photos are not for the faint hearted.

When I last visited Canton in 2009, the market had been cleaned up, the lacquered dogs had gone underground & the majority of live animals on Qingping Lu could look forward to a future as someone’s cherished pet.

1 Feb 2020

3 Fish Fishmongers, Chaoyang Lu market Goldfish, QingPing Lu1986

The Owl Qingping Lu, rare speciesZoofood The Owlman at Qing Pling Lu

Skinning ,washing & preparing dogs for laquering Laquered roasted dogs for sale Qingping Pussy Baby Monkeys in Qingping LuNov 1984 Dried and preserved lap cheong Civet cat & snake seller Qingping Lu, fishmonger Qingping Lu, 1985

Finding myself in a kind of no-man’s land has always intrigued me since I lived in Hat Yai in Thailand’s deep south in the 1980’s. 

There had already been a history of unrest in Thailand’s southern provinces but that did not preoccupy me; I was in my 20’s and confident that I personally wouldn’t come face-to-face with a terrorist. In those days, to travel south to Malaysia overland, I’d take a local bus to the Danok border and cross overland on foot to the Malaysian border at Bukit Kayu Hitam… such strange eeriness travelling through a kind of no-man’s land, between cultures, often on my own.

Fast forward, I’ve since travelled widely and contemplated borders & the conflict that accompanies them in Korea, Palestine and more recently along the Nicosia green line. As more walls go up worldwide, as the UK prepares for Brexit, I can’t help wondering what a world without borders would look like.

Here's a small selection of photographs from my recent reportage at the Cyprus green-line, 30 years since the Berlin Wall came down … 

Stoa Tarsi border Buffer zone, watchtower, Arab Ahmet Buffer zone & watcht§ower

Title: "Abandoned & broken-hearted on the streets of Paris"

Avoir Au moins 5 fruits et légumes Déchirée Burger spectaculair Interpol Anyone for tennis? Circle Rouge L'étudiante déchirée Tâche Rouge au Marais Déchiré à La Villette Rue Scribe Pastelle Slami Coeur de caoutchouc Légalise fraternité Coeur brisé

Chance sometimes has it that I wind up in the right place at the right time. This was the case on Saturday 5 July as temperatures reached the mid-30s celsius in greater Paris. It was carnival day in the suburb of Saint-Denis & I was on my way to the parade when I ran into these beautiful women on the Place du Marché... Waiting for the carnival to get under way.KaraÏb Festival 2019, Place du Marché, Saint-Denis. Bonjour !KaraÏb Festival 2019, Place du Marché, Saint-Denis. West African ladies all dressed up & ready to go.KaraÏb Festival 2019, Place du Marché, Saint-Denis. Ivorian songstress Louise d'Ivoire at the Saint-Denis carnivalKaraÏb Festival 2019, Place du Marché, Saint-Denis. The fabulous Louise d'Ivoire!KaraÏb Festival 2019, Place du Marché, Saint-Denis. "Carnival queens" in their finery.KaraÏb Festival 2019, Place du Marché, Saint-Denis. Time to get down!KaraÏb Festival 2019, Place du Marché, Saint-Denis. Move to the grooveKaraÏb Festival 2019, Place du Marché, Saint-Denis. Java wax vibesKaraÏb Festival 2019, Place du Marché, Saint-Denis. Heatwave grooving!KaraÏb Festival 2019, Place du Marché, Saint-Denis.  

Poster, poster on the wall, who should I vote for after all? 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe 1. Manon Aubry - fading fastFrance Insoumise & Envie d'Europe

17. Parti animalierListen to the animals!

Rue de la Fontaine au Roi, Paris 10 / 1

Paris 12 ème

Rue Davy, Paris 17 ème

Rue de la Fontaine au Roi, Paris 10 ème / 2Rue de la Fontaine au Roi, Paris 10 ème.

Rue de la Fontaine au Roi, Paris 10 ème / 3

Franklin D. Roosevelt metro corridorOceania poster + plait

Un biberon nommé libertéPresident Macron drinking milk from a baby's bottle on Place de la Nation in Paris.

To Brexit or not to Brexit?That is the question! Quartier de l'Europe, Paris.

Cherry Blossoms in Kirinland via the LouvreSpringtime in the métro corridors of the Gare Montparnasse.

"Special Ndadie"Ave de St Ouen, Paris 17 ème

"Composition", Rue Richelieu, Paris 2 ème

This once was the Syrian Arab Airlines Paris office

Rue de la Fontaine au Roi, Paris 10 ème / 4

"Fading Fast" is an on-going series which I first started documenting in the 1990's. This selection captures a certain Paris mood from January to early May 2019 in the run-up to the European elections. Compared with earlier series, there's a kind of pregnant silence. These walls don't "talk" so much, they hardly mention France's social and political divide. Could it be that poster stickers, billboard shredders and defacers prefer to express themselves on social networks? For information, I keep to a strict rule,  never shred posters or deface these walls, I just accept them as they are and frame them to my liking.
To be followed - à suivre ! 

Songkran-sur-Seine

At first sight, you may think I took these photos in Thailand. Look closer, these Songkran (Thai New Year) celebrations took place, in France at Wat Thammapathip (Temple of light) on 21 April 2019.  

This unique Thai Buddhist temple & monastery is housed in the Château de Lugny, Moissy Cremayel, 50 km from Paris, surrounded by a park with 400 + golden Buddhas. 

There’s much merry making, Thai music, dancing,Thai food specialities and people spraying each other with water guns and then smothering both friends & strangers with talc. Buddhists visit the temple to give gifts of food to the monks and pay respects to their ancestors. 
Totally sanuk! *

N.B. In Buddhism the sprinkling of water symbolises purification. It washes away the sins and bad luck accumulated during the past year.

* Sanuk, is beyond fun. It’s away of life in Thailand!

Cyrus at Tornos took me on a culinary walk to some of Lucknow's most authentic & well-established roadside eateries in the Chowk district. This was street food before the term was invented. Awadi cuisine is the Persian-inspired cuisine of the Nawabs in fusion with other Asian & Middle Eastern influences.

Amongst the many kebabs I tasted (in between photographing the chefs) was the Tunday Kababi created by a one-armed chef more than 100 years ago. Legend has it, the Tunday is flavoured with 160 different spices. To this day, roadside chefs recreate this very same kebab using just one arm!

Bon appétit!

http://www.tornosindia.com/culinary-walk/

Thanks to all at Tornos, Prateek, Pankaj, Ali & the gourmet himself, Cyrus. Lucknow Mubeen's Lucknow Reheat Ali Lucknow Tunday Kababi Lucknow, Tunday Kababi Lucknow Mubeen's Lucknow Mubeen's Lucknow Mubeen's Lucknow Mubeen's Lucknow Mubeen's Lucknow Mubeen's Lucknow Rahim's

Basse Pointe Street Art

Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art Basse Pointe Street Art  A splash of colour revitalises Basse-Pointe, on Martinique's Atlantic coast.

This is in part thanks to Martinique Surf Pro, the international surfing competition held in Basse-Pointe since 2015.

Thanks to artists Sbu One, Shakt & others for this vibrant facelift.

All photos © Brenda Turnnidge 2018

Merci à Pierre Chabrèle

Carnaval de ParisHow to travel from Paris to the French West Indies, Ecuador, Bolivia & back in a matter of hours dancing all the way! No rain, no snow just good vibes and good fun! Photos © Brenda Turnnidge 2018

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

Carnaval de Paris rue du Faubourg du Temple

How to travel from Paris to the French West Indies, Ecuador, Bolivia & back in a matter of hours dancing all the way! No rain, no snow just good vibes and good fun!
Photos © Brenda Turnnidge 2018

Hong Kong colour archives Solo (HK)

Solo (HK)

Hong Kong colour archives Solo (HK)

Solo HK

Solo (HK)

Hong Kong colour archives Solo (HK)

Hong Kong colour archives Solo (HK)

Even back in 1989 when I took most of these photos, the population of 5.6 mill was crammed into 1,100 km2. Yet despite the constant hustle & bustle, the teeming crowds, I subconsciously focused my lens on loners, dreamers, the homeless, those on the fringe of society…

At that time, « loneliness » didn’t really figure as one of my themes, it was only on taking a closer look at my archives a few years ago, that I discovered these photos with different eyes and preoccupations.

Merci aux frères d'avoir embelli mon voisinage!

1. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

Desperately searching for a new life

I first started this collection back in 1987 when I was struck by the variety of mannequins being displayed in front of Mr Angelopoulos's shop on the corner of Ermou & Pittaki streets. Mr Angelopoulos was delighted to tell me that in it's hey day in the 1990's it even attracted young Japanese fashionistas on photo shoots in Europe. The shop disappeared more than a few years ago and Mr Angelopoulos has since died. The area is now part of the recently gentrified Psyrri district. 

I still roam those streets in search of lost Gods and Goddesses & sometimes find them lurking in Athens Flea Market. 

Stalingrad métro. Under the elevated métro, modern art in the making. St

From Stalingrad to Rosa Parks

Welcome burst of colour!

As 2015 draws to a close I set out to discover the latest additions to the capital’s bustling street art scene. From the dark, dismal area under the elevated viaduct of Paris’s Métro Line 2 I head north up rue d’Aubervilliers towards the pont Ricquet and the new Rosa Parks district.    

Until recently there was a drab grey wall alongside N°s 104-164, now it’s been transformed thanks to artists Bastardilla, Kashink ,Katjastroph, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Zepha and many others.
For more info:

http://www.rosaparksfaitlemur.com/la-galerie-a-ciel-ouvert

Kashink fait le mur "Rosa Parks".Paris, rue Riquet 75019. Kashink head!Here's looking at you Paris. Crossing the Pont Riquet, Paris 18Kashink's faces, Rosa Parks wall. Street crochet on le pont Riquet, Paris 18 Rosaparksfaitlemur!Merci Kashink! Rue Riquet! Vincent Abadie Hafez aka ZEPHA Kashink Tatyana Fazlalizadeh stoptellingwomentosmile.com Kashink, rue d'Aubervilliers, 75019 Paris Kashink, rue d'Aubervilliers, 75019 Paris Vincent Abadie Hafez aka ZEPHA Mural by Katjastroph, rue d'Aubervilliers, Paris 75019 www.katjastroph.com/

Carpet at La Fourche métro station at 8:30 this morning.... 
Welcome carpet? Prayer mat? Magic carpet? 
No camera today so I took the photo with my iPhone!
© Brenda Turnnidge

The magic carpet saga    Day 2

On 28 August at 6.10 pm, the carpet is still there at La Fourche!
Wondering if it isn't perhaps art ...

 Nobody seems to be taking the slightest notice!

28 August 

10.30 pm... the carpet has flown away... magic! Has anyone seen it?