I find that the nearer you live to London (but not actually in it) the less you go and do ‘Londony’ things. That’s why it’s so great when people come to visit, it gives you an excuse to go be a tourist for the day.. with the advantage of actually knowing how to read a tube map. At the weekend we had lovely Kentonions (is that what people from Kent are called?!) come to visit us, and we decided to make a day of it and head to Saatchi to go see some arty bits, and have a mooch on the Kings Road. Saatchi did not disappoint, I was impressed they had so much on show for free, and the gift shop was amazing (by far the best bit of any gallery).. I wanted to buy everything! They had mega creepy stuff on show, with a fake praying crowd kneeling and bending down which REALLY looked like real people, a scary bunny with it’s bits out and the oil room was back – which melted my mind. If you haven’t heard anything about the oil room, it’s basically a space in the Saatchi Gallery filled half way up the wall with thick oil that is totally reflective on the surface; giving the impression that the room is far deeper than it is. With the reflection increasing the volume of the room as well as turning it upside down, you really cannot explain the surreal experience. It’s hard to trust your eyes at this optical illusion, and this teamed with the stench of the oil really confused me! Much to the enjoyment of the others I was majorly creeped out and decided to run away. 

My favourite piece was ‘Nusty’s McDonalds’ by Tom Sachs, which was this installation of a McDonald’s food cart, with a fully stocked fridge and bar. It was very odd, and made me feel a bit uncomfortable, like the feeling I get when I see photographs of abandoned hospitals or schools. My fave piece was a green carpet chair that looked like it was covered in grass (as I could imagine it at home in our flat!) and I also liked the marble armchair.

They even had work by Michael Craig-Martin – which took me back to my GCSE art days..good times. It was a really fun exhibition to visit, and with eggnog and gingerbread latte’s afterwards on the King’s Road, followed by dinner at Honest Burger, it was a great Christmassy day out. My favourite pic that I took though, has to be the one where Victoria’s holding hands with the boys… I just really think it looks like she’s being taken out for the day by her two gay dads!