Meanwhile #203
No trees, no valleys, no hills, just the Archipelagic Void
Welcome to Meanwhile, in which I bundle together the finest hyperlinks loitering in my tabs and drop them into your inbox – fuel for the week ahead. Check out previous editions for further inspiration, fascination and procrastination.
“There seemed to be no trees and no valleys and no hills to break the ground in front of them, only one vast slope going slowly up and up to meet the feet of the nearest mountain, a wide land the colour of heather and crumbling rock, with patches and slashes of grass-green and moss-green showing where water might be.”
I’m currently rereading The Hobbit with my son, and this particular line from chapter three immediately brought to mind one of my favourite Rob Turpin photos of Iceland.
The best thing about Minsuk Cho’s new Serpentine Pavilion design is the name. Archipelagic Void. Of course it also serves the basic purpose of the annual architectural installation: being a nice place in the middle of the park to top up your sunscreen and eat a Pret.
Yes you do need this Stop Making Sense coaster set.
Everything All At Once: Postmodernity 1967–1992, Studio Yukiko’s dense and intense catalogue for the latest exhibition at the Bundeskunsthalle Museum. So big, they could only promote it by having a bodybuilder rip it apart. Apparently.
Similarly hefty and year-rangey: Thames & Hudson’s Comics (1964-2024), published to accompany the new exhibition at the Pompidou Centre, Paris, a survey of the international comic book landscape over the past sixty years.
Also – apologies for the bookshelf-burdening this week – this 334-page tome exploring Olivetti’s design heritage. So pretty. And while you’re cruising around the Present & Correct website, don’t miss these delightful 1950s Japanese matchbox labels or these 1960s postage labels that desperately need to be t-shirts.
Saltburn: Music From The Motion Picture (Bath Water Edition). I’m so sorry.
Jacques Monneraud makes ceramic pitchers and pots that look like they’re made out of cardboard. Because somebody has to and let’s face it nobody’s holding their breath waiting for you to do it.
John Grindrod returns to Ladybird modernism, revisiting an optimistic vision of the future from the past. Euston Station looks almost slightly bearable.
Seriously though, Archipelagic Void.
That is all.
That photo by Rob Turpin is really something.