Kensington Gardens & Kensington Palace

Kensington Palace, http://benbloomfield.wordpress.com/


A LONDON CLASSIC

Granted; Kensington Gardens is hardly a secret, but it seemed like a good choice especially considering my first visit was in February and I needed a park that had a fabulous indoor attraction in case the weather was bad. Kensington Palace seemed like a great 'Plan B' 

It turned out that I would need that indoor alternative but first I wandered up the Boardwalk, tempted to rent a Barclay’s bike at one of the park gates and take a pleasant, not to mention safe ride on the smooth pathways.


Others had obviously had the same idea and despite the grey and windy conditions joggers, dog-walkers and the rest of the usual park crowd were out and about.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/niznoz/5262214253/

It is no surprise that these beautiful, landscaped grounds, which used to be private gardens for the royals at Kensington Palace, are still drawing people in and has been since they were first opened to the public during the reign of George II in the 17th century. Together with Hyde Park and St. James’s Park, Kensington Gardens form a great ‘green lung’ in central London.

Sky Mirror, 2006 in Kensington Gardens, http://www.zimbio.com

ANISH KAPOOR AT THE SERPENTINE GALLERY

I didn't know about the Serpentine Gallery inside the park, but they had an outdoor Anish Kapoor exhibition on while I was there called 'Turning the World Upside Down'.


It consisted of four different sculptures set up around the Gardens, all mirroring the surroundings - turning them upside down. One of them was the above 'Sky Mirror' which stood by the Long Water where I also found the famous statue of Peter Pan. 

My personal favourite from the exhibition was the 'C-Curve', 2007:

C-Curve, 2007 in Kensington Gardens, http://speculumspectator.aurora-publishing.co.uk

A better photo of 'C-Cuve', 2007 in Brighton, 2009: 

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/our-work/anish-kapoor-sculpture-trail/

Apparently, the Serpentine Gallery often use the gardens as an outdoor exhibition space for their many contemporary works, which makes for a great and very different art experience compared to any of the more classical museums in the Kensington area.

On a practical note, making use of the outdoors also means that you are never as crammed together as you sometimes are for indoor exhibitions. 

I should add that I have recently visited the V&A to see 'The Cult of Beauty' exhibition as well as 'Sexual Nature' at the magnificent National History Museum. Both are of course well-worth a visit, crowd or no crowd. 

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to see all of Kapoor's works. I blame the winter weather and the fact that they were quite spread out - just look at the map: 

http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2010/03/anish_kapoor.html

So I went into the Enchanted Palace instead... 

http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/stories/Palacehighlights/EnchantedPalaceintroduction.aspx

AN ENCHANTING PALACE

Fortunately for me the crowds had stayed at home and I had this truly amazing, theatrical installation art exhibition almost to myself. Ahh, the luxury of being able to visit museums on week days!     

My ticket

The exhibition was set up as a treasure hunt for the seven former royal residents of Kensington Palace, who each had a room dedicated to them.

Map of The Enchanted Palace

The Map came with a Dance Card, where you could note down the seven princesses:

My dance card - all empty...

SOPHIE IN WONDERLAND

The rooms all had huge installation pieces that were often both beautiful and scary - many reflecting the fact that often the life of queens and princesses were lonely and difficult, even if they belonged to a pampered elite.


For example, one room was dimly lid with green and blue tones and had a giant bed like the one from 'The Princess and The Pea' surrounded by a handful of huge string-puppets. 

Room of A Sleeping Princess, www.cratycrafty.tv

In each room a poem, written for the princess in question, revealing her circumstances, were read out aloud and the installation pieces included furniture, clothes, toys and other personal effects. Often you were even allowed to touch certain parts of the art work.

William Tempest's Dress for Dreaming About Freedom, http://www.fashion-stylist.net/blog/2010/03/30/the-enchanted-palace-at-night/ 

All around the palace you could find 'Explainers' aka kind and knowledgable museum staff willing to answer questions and tell you more about Kensington Palace and the people who lived there. These 'explainers' were a great alternative to the usual audio guides, which would surely have ruined the enchanted feel and the multi-media experience of the exhibition.


I can't in any way do The Enchanted Palace justice so I have included two short interviews with core participants, which I hope will inspire you to visit Kensington Palace and experience the pieces for yourself.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Interview #1
Sue Hill from the theatre company WILDWORKS. The company specialises in place-specific theatre and helped create the exhibit:

Interview #2
The designer duo Aminaka Wilmont talk about the Dress of Tears they executed for The Room of Royal Sorrows, dedicated to Queen Mary of Modena: 

Fun fact: Note Markus Wilmont's authentic Danish accent... Lovely.  


I spent several hours enjoying every bit of the exhibit and I will gladly go back for a second visit.

TEA AT THE ORANGERY

Same goes for the exquisite and extremely white Orangery.

The Orangery, http://www.dailymail.co.uk

And from the outside in February:

Someone holding hands, on their way to the Orangery 

I know Afternoon Teas don't have to be that costly (these days they come costlier) but you only live once, so I went and had a lovely, but not spectacular, banana/walnut cake and green tea with lemon in the pale tea room to end the day in style. The Orangery also does lunch and dinner, but I didn't have room... 

It tasted much better than it looks 

FIND OUT ABOUT...

Closest Tube: High Street Kensington, Bayswater

Kensington Gardens is open the public from 6 am to nightfall.

Kensington Gardens


Kensington Palace


Serpentine Gallery


Anish Kapoor