Scythian pagan rituals may have informed this rarely seen set of monumental sculptures, cast using experimental concrete techniques. In 1964, acclaimed British sculptor William Mitchell created a magnificent work of art for the British Cement Association in Wexham Springs, Buckinghamshire. Seeing photos of that sculpture on the internet for the first time was somewhat unsettling… Read More
The Dinosaur Court
London’s fantastical Victorian bestiary of prehistoric creatures remains awe inspiring despite its age A few years ago, I spent a morning in south London, looking for the beautiful remains of Crystal Palace – one of the grand feats of engineering that epitomised the Victorian era. Joseph Paxton, the renowned Victorian gardener and architect, was behind… Read More
Sacred Inspiration : the Church of Agia Foteini Mantineias
In the sunlit Arcadian plain close to the ancient city of Mantineia in Greece, there’s a church like no other. It’s an astonishing melange of styles, combining elements of Classical, Byzantine and Modern architecture, and yet remaining true to none. Its construction is the life’s work of architect and iconographer Kostas Papatheodorou, who has delivered… Read More
Modernist Necropolis : a Spartan cemetery
go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie Spartan epitaph at Thermopylae Modernist austerity meets Spartan rigour in a Greek memorial cemetery like no other The new city of Sparta was founded in 1834 at the behest of Otto, the Bavarian prince who became the first King of… Read More
The Drift : an interview with the Agoraphobic Traveller
“Get out. I need to go to my Mind Palace” Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock, S2 : The Hounds of Baskerville We have been captives of the global COVID-19 pandemic for a while. Forced to stay home in relative isolation, we’ve been deprived of a human experience we all hold dear – travel, a need… Read More
Killing him softly : velvet vandalism on Kyjov’s Lenin statue
“Go and look for the dejected once proud Idol remembered in stone aloud Then on coins his face was mirrored Take a look it soon hath slithered To a fractured marble slab, renunciation clad His nourishment extract from his subjects That mass production profile” Bauhaus – God in an Alcove (1980) Eodem Tempore – at… Read More
The eagle dance of Zeybekiko : an expression of the Greek soul
The unique, soulful Greek dance called Zeybekiko is steeped in folk tradition, has no specified steps or moves, and yet captures the essence of Greek character. I attempt to explain what it’s all about. I was recently invited to capture my nephew’s christening in photography. Christenings, weddings and other family gatherings are important social happenings… Read More
Tubular Monuments : the strange allure of basic geometric shapes
“What the fuck are they gonna do with all these tubes? What the hell do they need all these tubes for? Should we perhaps carry the oceans inside all these tubes?” from the song Tubes by Lost Bodies *You’re welcome to expand this article by submitting your photo and description to explore@explorabilia.co.uk Let there be… Read More
3 hours in Kyiv : rushing through the Ukrainian capital’s complex architecture in wintertime
Be a Socialist Modernism, Brutalism, and World War 2 history fanboy like I am. Be in Kyiv during wintertime, and with only 3 hours to spare. What would you do, and where would you even begin? Read More
The Garden of Forgotten Delights : a graveyard for Bulgaria’s old Soviet monuments.
In the outskirts of Sofia, where I found myself one October, there’s a somewhat secret garden where the state of Bulgaria is hiding away the past. The Museum of Socialist Art is a sombre, poignant affair, tucked away among modern office buildings and the token concrete abandoned factories. It’s a museum dedicated to exiled communist… Read More
Anita and Le Squart at 59 Rue de Rivoli : visiting a renowned Parisian squat dedicated to art
Visiting a renowned Parisian squat dedicated to art Read More
Barbican Reflections
A celebration of London’s revered brutalist masterpiece through reflections on its blue water pools All images © explorabilia
Captivated
when words are not enough, would you let the captions do the talking? I have adored those movie stills, and did so unconditionally. thank you kindly for letting me share those pocket dramas of yours © sozitagood
Songs of a Pagan
It didn’t take long to become captivated by the otherworldly photography of Anne Brigman. Very special thanks to [Fütüristika!] for their permission to reproduce their content and gallery.