{Seoul} City Adventures

I have never been to Seoul before this trip, so it seemed natural for me to stay a few more days after the installation was completed; this way I can explore the city a little bit. The way the city has preserved the heritage buildings fascinated me, because unlike Beijing, the palace is quite humble in Seoul. Its walls are lower, and the paint less shiny. When walking in Insa-dong, one can also see traditional houses juxtaposed immediately next to modern galleries. It makes a very interesting walk. My mind was traveling through time as my eyes wandered on the street. The rest of Seoul seemed quite homogeneous--condos and office buildings make up most of its urban fabric. The major streets are four to six lane wide, making it very difficult for the pedestrians to cross. Though when I turned the corner and find myself in a neighborhood lined with little stores and cozy cafes, the scale of the city suddenly changed. I felt comfortable and the city around me seemed tangible and relevant to my tiny body.

{Seoul} Epiphyte Chamber Install

I've put my Thesis aside since October to work full time on organizing the ACADIA conference that happened at the architecture school at the end of October. As soon as the conference was over, I packed my bags and boarded a plane with the rest of the Philip Beesley team to put together an installation sculpture at the MMCA Seoul. We got over the jetlag pretty quickly because having very little sleep prior to traveling half way across the world helps with adjusting one's sleep schedule.

For the first 13 days while in Seoul, we climbed scaffolds, assembled glass chains, put together spars and fiddled with electronics. Although we spent most of our time in the museum, we've gotten to see glimpses of the Korean experience--we dined on the floor and watched a shaman performance to say the least. With many many wonderful hands and help, the installation turned out incredible. You can see more pictures of it here. P.S. I heard it will be on the December issue of Korean Vogue!

{Roxton Road Parks} Wednesday, West of FH Park

I was on a mission this afternoon. I had planned to work on my thesis abstract while enjoying a fine cup of coffee in a hip coffee shop, but to much of my disappointment, I forgot my wallet. What's better than coffee in a fine afternoon I thought? A walk in the park and neighborhood I'm so invested in would be pretty lovely. With my film camera in hand this time, I decided to walk west from the park this time. Crossing over George Ban Park, a saw a humble playground right across Ossington Avenue. As I approached it, the building next to it appeared to be a school. I later found out on Google it's the Ossington Junior Public School. I followed a side path between the end of the row houses and the playground and found myself in the back of the school in a lush school garden. There are small plots of gardens next to the school building, and across from those is a series of stepped gardens with a variety of vegetables neatly planted and labeled--kale, cauliflower, tomatoes and many of which I could not name. Turning a corner I found the space opened up and there are more stepped gardens to my left. To my right are the backyards of houses and in the middle of this open space situate another playground. The school seems quite; I guess it is because of the summer break, though the gardens are kept very well.

Square Roll

 

The last time I posted Diana Mini photos was almost two years ago, but lately I've been carrying this tiny camera with me while traveling. This roll followed me to Beijing, Nantong, Toronto and Quebec City. It had stayed in my camera for so long and I've almost forgotten what I've taken, but all the good memories of my travels were brought back when I opened the envelope. I always find nice surprises going through these square prints.

Camping

Believe it or not, this is my first camping trip. I'm not so found of bugs, darkness and the lack of water, but everything about this trip made all of the above seemed negligible. Our days were filled with canoeing, cooking and eating. Brunch in the wilderness is the best thing.

farm

Although the weekend was chilly and rainy, we had a great time at Geoff's farm back in June. The air has cooled down quite a bit here already. Are we having a short summer this year?

from the trip

Just a few 1/2 frame photos from LA and Vancouver, I will let the photos speak for me.
The next a few posts will be more or less like this, I hope you won't mind.
I've been busy with a few things, be back soon!

from the month of may

It's going to be quite around here for the next two weeks as I head to the west. I will leave you with photos taken when the air was still cool, and the sprouts were new.

I can't believe it's going to be July already.

Happy birthday to Canada tomorrow. The festivities will go on when I arrive in LA. Have a celebratory long weekend friends!

Summer

There are so many things happening in the city everyday in the summer, and I've been too busy enjoying all of it. The last ttwo photos are of the R.H. Harris water treatment plant, a beautiful art deco building by the lake. It's amazing how much people valued infrastructure back in the days, isn't it? Who would care to design a plant nowadays?

On a bright note, I'm heading to LA and Vancouver in a week! I will be spending a lot of time with family and friends. Although I've lived in both cities, I'd love to hear your suggestions on where I can go. Do you know of any gems in these cities?

out of focus

Did I say I wasn't going to get another camera? This Yashica half frame is in such good condition and I just couldn't pass it on. I also got a couple rolls of expired film at the Phtographic Fair, and started snapping away without thinking too much. Of course, when I got the roll back, everything is out of focus. Turns out, it's only good for taking photos of things further away. Something about these photos appeal to me though. I appreciate the softness and almost impressionist-like quality.

These were taken last week. Dinner at a all time favourite wrap and soup place before we headed over to see Lion King. I was so very impressed with the show. The costumes are so intricately designed and the performance was outstanding, I left the theatre with a big smile on my face.

I'm also thinking much about plants and flowers lately. Just a few new plants and flowers around the house.

Cheers to a great weekend ahead!