It has been a couple of days since the exhibition opening and so I have now had chance to think about the whole experience and I find myself still very confused about my feelings. On the one hand I feel a great deal of pride that I had a print selected. This needs to be contrasted with the great sense of unease I have whenever attending such gatherings. I guess it is because these things never happen to me - but there I was within a cavernous auditorium at Allen & Overy's huge London HQ - no credit crunch here.
The day started after we had checked into the hotel with a short walk to the British Museum. Now if ever you need a wake up call to see how mush further you may have to travel to real artistic greatness this was it. We spent an hour or so wondering around the Assyrian sculptures and the infamous Elgin marbles. The thing that struck me was the wonderful levels of craftsmanship displayed by the Assyrian's almost 3000 years ago. In contrast, the Elgin marbles looked almost ordinary. Now this is no doubt due to the familiarity of the styles, the greek sculptures have been copied through out western europe and so their impact is somewhat dimmed. This is not the case for the Assyrian sculptures. I found myself standing in front of these huge slabs of stone marveling at the dexterous skills of the artists.
After this it was back to the hotel to change and take a taxi to the reception. The city of London really is another world. It has power, money and luxury oozing from every pore. It is within a stones throw of some of the most deprived communities in England and yet has no real attachment to them. It is an alien world of capitalist power. Even in its current state the buildings still look wonderful.
The reception it self was the usual mixture of congratulatory speeches and prize giving. The highlight was the winner of the Allen & Overy prize who had flown all the way from Japan to receive his cheque. He rightly socked up his congratulations. We played a game, 'spot the lawyer'. It was a very simple game - which of the gathering were photographs and which were lawyers. It wasn't difficult. We photographers are clearly not as prosperous or attached to dark suits as the lawyers, many of whom seemed to be very young and propping up the bar.
Once the reception was over we walked back to the hotel through the still buzzing city of London.
The next day was the journey home. We still had time to do a bit of shopping and then get back to the hotel, collect our bags and off to the station. St Pancras really is a wonderful building. The renovations are superb and for anyone who remembers the old dilapidated station it is unbelievable. St Pancras also provides the photographer with endless opportunities for shots - one which I took advantage of. Then the express back home and the whole experience was over - hopefully not the last I will have to go to.
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