I don't know what caught my eye first, that day: the composition of the chair and the dance it made with its own shadow, or the girl in the yellow skirt, reading a book.
Probably the girl: it was an absolutely glorious day, coming out into the sunshine after the utterly spiritual experience (unexpected - it really was a last minute plan) of seeing the V&A's Fashion in Motion catwalk show, by Yohji Yamamoto. The thing for me about seeing any great art form: a transformational film, (like Terance Malack's Tree of Life, which we saw yesterday), or an art exhibit at a museum.. or, a good catwalk show, is how it makes everything after that experience feel like art. It changes the way I SEE.
A girl in a yellow skirt, for example, can become a sculpture. Sitting by a wall in a shaft of yellow sunlight.
Actually, come to think of it, she was actually the second girl in a yellow skirt I saw that afternoon. (And yes - whoever asked is that actually a plastic inflatable skirt, I believe you're right!)
I love how many overlapping stories can happen in once place. This family, coming out of the cafe, for example: there's a whole other story in that, I bet. Which keeps bringing me back to the dream like film: has anyone else seen Tree of Life yet? Did it move you as much as it did us?
The thing that struck me about this girl was how absorbed she was in her book: how oblivious to all that was going on in the huge open courtyard with the pool and fountain at the V&A. (This was the same time I shot the girl in the lace shorts - who is NIA, by the way: more about her, coming up), or the previous post, the girl in the straw hat. Even the guy next to her, who didn't seem to know her, was aware I was shooting, but she never looked up. Not once.
I guess I'll never know, but now I'm really curious: I wonder what book she was reading. What do you think? Actually.. while I'm at it, I need a new book. Any suggestions? The film of my favourite book is coming out soon, by the way: One Day, by David Nicholl.
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