Mathew Williamson, London

After seeing all of the bling of Christmas lights here in London for what now seems like months, and recently it has been raining almost constantly for several days, it was such a pleasure to see this scheme at Mathew Williamson. I also find myself getting bored with Christmas more and more - a hazard of the industry I suppose. Anyway, a dozen or so exotic birds and butterfly kites have been suspended above these White gloss sprayed figures carrying the merchandise. The figures themselves stand above white clouds giving them the land-of-the giants proportions that I always enjoy. This is further enhanced with the figures being placed next to a tiny shocking Pink house. I did find the images pasted on the right elevation a little distracting and don't think that this is really necessary, however what a great fun scheme which is beautifully produced which gives the viewer a breathing space from all this twinkling lights stuff.

Tiffany, Bond Street, London

While meandering around the streets of London this week, I came across these exquisite Tiffany windows. Now, I must say, I am a fan of the windows that the team here create, however this really is rather exceptional. The tiniest cut paper work fills these tiny little spaces. Of course this didn't take someone all year to cut these individually, I would say, that the laser cutter somewhere has been working overtime. I adore laser cut paper as one achieve the most remarkable results. Jewellery is very difficult to work with, but here we zoom in on the product contained within these narratives. Exceptional stuff and such a real treat to see. I only wish someone would redesign the interior space of this store that supported these magnificent schemes.

Student work

Following a lecture and seminar on the theme of Commodification within their Visual Culture and Theory sessions, students were tasked with visiting different parts of the city. My students were asked to visit Soho in central London and to identify something there which was being commodified. The students were then asked to record examples of this commodification and create a map of the area using these examples as reference points/points of interest. My students chose sex as their commodity and created a conceptual 3D map of Soho marking their route using these on stickers on the objects, related to sex, found and bought there.

The students say [that], This installation is a representation of the commodity of sex in Soho London, commodity meaning its prime purpose is sale in a market place. It is a record of the journey taken in Soho and contains examples of sex being commodified. Yellow lighting was used to give the installation a softer feel but is contrasted by the shadow that has been cast in the background, which is almost beast like and expresses the negative affects that commodity has had on sex.

Camper, London

Camper is perhaps one of those brands that create a simple yet a strong visual statement within thier spaces. I have seen quite a few of these stores on my travels and I am always quite amazed at how effective they are with their concepts. This is the fairly new store along Regent st. here in London. Unfortunately these are not the best images having been taken through very smeary glass but nonetheless we can at least get the idea. I haven't been inside this store yet, although it is very very small, to enable me to get a close up of what appear to be red coloured leaves or petals attached to the wall on the left and on the seating. Behind the seating the wall is covered with mirror. The back wall is a simple light box which covers the whole space, in front of which the cash desk is placed. The merchandise has then been layed out in rows. Simple and beautifully produced, what a pleasure to view it on my journey.