Mamma Andersson

London is full of administrative divisions and there are numerous signs, plaques, and markings that designate present-day boroughs as well as past divisions that have disappeared or have been altered in more recent times. I took a photo of this small boundary plaque in Islington, intending on finding out more about it when we got home, but I still have no idea what it designates:

Today was my first time on the so-called "London Overground," the new name for the Silverlink train that stops near our house. Previously known for everything you don't want in public transportation (run-down trains, grotty stations, last-minute delays, and frequent cancellations), the only thing Silverlink had going for it was that (when it was running properly) it was a very quick way to travel east-west across north London without having to dip down into even more crowded transportation in central London. Now that Transport for London has taken over Silverlink (all part of a plan to extend and rebrand existing overland trains as being connected to the tube system for the 2012 Olympics), promises are being made: more reliable, more frequent service, new trains, shinier stations, attendants at every station, and the ability to use the London pay-as-you-go Oyster card to travel (which you couldn't do on Silverlink). With all this in mind, my inaugural journey on London Overground was mighty reminiscent of Silverlink. Here's the super-high-tech way that Transport for London has removed the obsolete Silverlink signage at our station,
and at Finchley Road and Frognal station, this poster outlines some of the "immediate improvements" being made to the London Overground, while the broken glass in front of the poster suggests the era of Silverlink isn't going down without a fight!
Anyway, I took Silver, er, London Overground today because Bob and I met at Camden Arts Centre, one of our favourite London places, and the train stops directly across the street from the gallery. We try to pop in at least once during each of their pairs of exhibitions to stroll through the galleries and relax over their excellent coffee and magazine selection. Today was especially exciting because the main exhibit was of Mamma Andersson, whom we first encountered at Stockholm's Moderna Museet this summer. Something about the way that her dreamy, slightly menacing work deals with time, space, and home really appeals to me, and it was nice on this early evening to have the galleries practically to ourselves after our first noisy viewing of her work in the crowded Stockholm museum. My favourites from the exhibit include Abandoned,

Rooms Under the Influence,
and Coming Home,
and while I forgot to note the names of these last four paintings, I found them incredibly striking, especially with each pair displayed side-by-side.