FEAST OR FAMINE

  Artist Philippe Katerine presents his exhibition called  Le Mignonisme  – “Cute-ism” – at Le Bon Marché department store in Paris.  He presents over 100 pieces ranging from paintings to sculptures to photography in the department store’s front windows, and around its interior walls and ceilings. There is also a pop-up art gallery and shop. In the shop are “cutist” goodies such as toys, clothing, cards, and mugs. Philippe Katerine’s philosophy is ‘simply open your eyes: you can always find something cute somewhere, it’s just a matter of perception.’ He used his time during the pandemic lockdown to produce his works of art.  The pink Cute-ism symbol is Monsieur Rose – Mr Pink. On each Mr Pink is a small black scar which represents Philippe Katerine’s heart surgery when he was seven years old.  Philippe Katerine (1968-) is French singer-songwriter, actor, author Philippe Blanchard. He has used the surname Katerine since beginning his professional career in 1...

I Wish I Could Say I Was Sorry: Stunning Memoir of an English Girl’s 1950s Childhood in Kenya (2014) is set in England and Kenya from the 1950s to the 1970s. In 1954 at the age of eight, Susie’s mother and father travelled by ship to Mombasa, and by train to Nairobi, and into a bungalow – out of grey England into sunny Kenya. It was the beginning of the end of Kenya’s colonial era when ‘life was so exciting; so colourful, so comfortable; so safe, so perfect.’ Until, only months later, her mother left the house due to a ‘scandalous’ affair, and eventually to South Africa with her new husband. It was tragic for the author, but, at least, she had Daddy.  It wasn’t only Susie in a state of distress; Kenya was in a state of emergency due to the rise of the murderous Mau Mau. Her father sent Susie to boarding school back in England, to a life with her grandparents, back to a ‘monochrome world.’ She felt abandoned by both parents.  Four years later, in 1958, she re-unites with her f...

  Who Occupies This House (2010) is set in the same house, covering 100 years of family history, complete with photographs and illustrations. The narrator begins this memoir seven years after her mother’s death. It is mostly about the house her mother and relatives lived in for almost a hundred years since 1912, two years after it was built.  Her grandfather and grandmother Willie and Deirdre’s items are still in the house they rented on the day the  Titanic  sank. They bought the house in 1917. The narrator’s mother Kate bought the house in 1994. The narrator’s father and mother Bert and Kate’s objects are also still in the house. Objects of heritage, love, and everyday life: from photographs to books to cutlery … ‘poems cut from newspapers; articles, invitations, calling cards, train schedules, maps, menus, postcards …’ The short stories of the house and its inhabitants include her mother’s younger sister. The narrator writes about the history of the house and his...

  From 9 March to 16 April 2022, the Town Hall of the 6 th   arrondissement of Paris is exhibiting the artworks of Anna Jeretic.   Her collection is called ‘The Wild Garden.’ Born and raised in the United States of America, Anna Jeretic (1961-) moved to France in 1989. Her studio is on the outskirts of Paris, near Fontainebleau, where the surrounding forest is her main source of inspiration. She teaches engraving and painting in the Comairas Academy in Fontainebleau.  MARTINA NICOLLS MartinaNicollsWebsite   Martinasblogs Publications Facebook Paris Website Animal Website Flower Website SUBSCRIBE TO MARTINA NICOLLS FOR NEWS AND UPDATES    MARTINA NICOLLS   is an international aid and development consultant, and the  author   of:  The Paris Residences of James Joyce   (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s...