It's Wim Wim situation

Super Deluxe

Our first visit Super Deluxe is on Pecha Kucha night http://www.pecha-kucha.org/ an evening where anyone can present 30 slides of their work, limited to 20 seconds per slide, the presentations are pretty dam interesting, a man who demonstrates a drawing machine, a group of Japanese students that have taken up farming and think it's the funniest thing on earth and a number of more architecture centred presentations – Super deluxe is after all run by an architects office. During one of the presentations a eco conference was mentioned, at which the delegates on arrival had to plant 2,000 trees which in 35 years would negate the impact of thier travel to the conference, youch, 2000 trees, 35 years for a few people to say the same stuff they've been saying for years and maybe a couple of illicit shags. Surley this sort of thing can be done via the web (omit shagging), much as they all love that knee to knee thing. It does make me think about our project and its environmental impact 10 artists flown half way round the world and back.

A second visit is more practical to discuss the Grizedale presentation on the 27th July. Maybe we will also do a presentation on the 26th another Pecha Kucha night. Mike the programme manager is a fund of interesting information and enthusiasm, the club is well set up to do most any AV presentation, it all looks easy, let the happening commence.

Every major city should have a Johnny Walker, in New York it’s Jackie McAllister, in Dublin Queveen, someone who is the social centre of the art world, who knows too much about everyone. Johnny is a larger than life self professed screaming queen, with a line in name dropping that is almost Teurrets like, sometimes a story will just peter out, all the relevant names have been dropped and the punch line was never the point anyway. Johnny is of course utterly charming or as a rather flowery friend of mine might have said, ‘oh no no, Johnny’s not utterly charming he’s utterly, utterly charming’.
We have charmingly been invited to attend a dinner to welcome Wim Wenders and the opening of his photo project (a tribute to Japanese filmmaker Ozu) in Otomosando Hills (another footballers wives temple to the god of handbags and Eva Longoria hips). Another consumer driven development by Mighty Mori (Marriko’s uncle and Tokyo’s richest man). The dinner is held in a Jean Nouvelle building on the 47th floor, it’s a rather horrifying lift experience leading to a beautiful view from a room filled with maybe not so much beauty but a lot of naked ambition and career seeking missiles. We have a lot of fun talking, talking.

The last day of the trip and I fuck up my dates getting a meeting down on the wrong day, so on returning to the hotel I am handed a message from the desk and realize I’ve left Jamie (web designer) sitting waiting for me. Jamie has traveled in from some distance, he is remarkably good natured about it but I feel like shit about it, I had got through all the complications and convolutions of the tour only to be pole axed on the last day.