Something for the weekend

Susan Philipsz The Lost Reflection, 2007

...if you decide to have a cup of tea and a sit down at Monmouth Coffee one weekend, please please please go and see Susan Philipsz' Surround Me:A Song Cycle for the City of London underneath London Bridge, every weekend from now until 2nd January 2011.  It's only a couple of minutes away and I guarantee you won't regret making the effort.

Philipsz has been nominated for this year's Turner prize for Lowlands, a project installed under three bridges beside the River Clyde in Glasgow. I saw a similar work by the artist at the Sculpture Projects Muenster exhibition in 2007.

At first glance she might seem a one-trick-pony, many works using the artist's unaccompanied voice, but her outdoor work is beautifully tailored to each site. The lovely, imperfectly lilting melody wrings a melancholy history from the dark underbelly of the bridge. It's a deeply affecting piece that feels somewhat like listening to an aural memorial, providing a moment of personal reflection amidst the hubbub of central London.