An unusually subdued Mark Wallinger exhibits his humble Christ before Pontius Pilate in the main room of the Secession. The lonely statue with amplified street noise lacks the element of surprise which astounded passers-by in London’s Trafalgar Square but if you’re lucky to visit on a slow day, it has a strange meditative quality. In the Ver Sacrum room there is a continuous showing of Wallinger’s Ecce Homo video, slo-mo images of passengers emerging through automatic doors. The downstairs gallery is taken up with Rita McBride’s transformation of the Secession building into various high-rise blocks, with the entrance as a plinth and the gilt dome atop.
Archive for November, 2009
Rayo Vallecano vs Racing de Santander
Little ‘Rayito’ continue their unprecedented hob-nobbing with mightier clubs as the season progresses. A shaky spell on the October-November cusp seems to have been resolved and the red-stripe beer-can lookalikes have gone from strength to strength, continuing as potential UEFA candidates. Visitors Racing are a struggling but nevertheless useful outfit always likely to cause an upset, especially away from home when logic points to three home points. Bad weather may help the northern side’s cause and earn them a point but Rayo are finding the net with ease lately.
Mount Fuji climbing season
According to an old Japanese saying, there are two types of fool – those who have never climbed Mount Fuji and those who have climbed it twice. For most of the year, access to the snow-capped peak of this towering symbol of Japan is considered unsafe, but for two hot months in summer the crowds clamber up at a snail’s pace the well-worn gravel paths from the so-called fifth stage, where the road runs out. Most people start before midnight to be sure to greet dawn at the summit. Just don’t expect to be alone.
