On Saturday, a bunch of Gates people took punts out from Trinity and went punting on the Cam. This is the third time I've been punting, the first when the weather was really nice, and that totally make the experience (although it also means the river is ridiculously busy). Afterwards, we had a picnic on the green along the Trinity backs. It was lovely to just hang out with people, enjoy the weather, and sip Pimms along the backs!
Today, I went in to London to catch the last day of an exhibit at the Tate Modern that I've been wanting to see for a while. Before that though, I met up with a friend and went to lunch near the Spitalfield's market. On Sunday there are a ridiculous number of stalls set up selling any kind of food you can imagine (literally from every country). And it's all ridiculously cheap. I had amazing ethiopian food for lunch, yum! Then we went to get bagels, which was a huge highlight as you basically can't find real bagels in Cambridge! double yum!
Then I went to the museum. The Tate used to be a factory, and there is still a big open space in it called the "Turbine Hall." Every year, they get an artist to design an installation to go in the hall, and this year that artist was Ai Weiwei. He made an installation that is composed of millions of "sunflower seeds." They're not actually seeds, but oblongs of porcelain, shaped and painted to look like sunflower seeds. It really is an amazing piece. The seeds were not industrially manufactured, but they were individually painted by artisans. It's a really breathtaking work, and really thought-provoking as well.
It used to be that you could go in and interact with the piece, walk around and play in the seeds. But then the museum got worried about the dust being thrown up by everyone walking on it, so they roped it off. I was really sad about this and was just thinking out it, when a few people jumped the barrier and started running around in the exhibit! A minute later, half the people there had been enticed to break the rules and enter the big square of seeds. It was hilarious. It literally felt like a jail-break! Eventually, though, the guards came over and asked everyone to get off. I also decided that there is something to be said for keeping it free of people. I found it a lot more tranquil and meditative without all the people in it.
On a serious note, Ai Weiwei, the artist, was recently arrested in China and his whereabouts remain unknown. A lot of the museums, both in here in the UK and the US, are calling for his release. If you want to sign a petition to push for him to be freed, one is available here.
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