“An Ace Caff with Quite a Nice Museum Attached” (Saatchi & Saatchi, on the V&A)

Last night I went to the opening of the Middle East Europe exhibition at DOX, one of my favourite galleries in Prague. My review is now live on Expat.cz – click here to view.

This new exhibition considers the impact of modern media on wars and ethnic conflicts, focusing on the Arab-Israeli tension.  It presents the modern (and at times, slightly bewildering) work of a number of European artists responding to the Middle Eastern conflict and considers the historical connections between continental Europe and the Middle East, contrasting antisemitism with islamophobia.

Big themes. So afterwards, I went to the shop upstairs.

I am a real sucker for a museum shop.  Yes, this makes me superficial and vacuous, but I don’t care. Maybe it’s the thirst for new knowledge and ongoing self-development that exhibitions give me – the desire to delve beneath the surface and learn more about Czech photography/Degas/The Impressionists/the history of Rome (delete as applicable).  Perhaps I am just a good patron of The Arts. Or maybe it’s my dreadful western consumerism. Either way, the shop at the V&A in London is my happy place. 

Last night was no different – I cannot resist a post-exhibition browse.  I wandered stairs to the DOX shop.  This is one of Prague’s premier design shops, stocking glassware, porcelain, jewelry, lighting, furniture and  a multitude of other Czech-made items just waiting for someone like me to come along and buy them.

I broke with tradition and didn’t buy a book related to the exhibition.  Instead, I found myself purchasing two very lovely Koh-i-noor pencils (one handbag sized, one normal).  At 230 czk for both, I cannot decide whether this is a snip for a quality piece of Czech design heritage, or whether I am a mug that has just spent about eight quid on two pencils.

Enjoy the exhibition.