Nestor Armando Gil @ Rufus Stone

London houses everything.  Its spaces of green at every turn, the beautiful contradictions of brick and cobblestone roads along which rise towers of modernity, the overwhelming abundance of art in seemingly every corner of the city . . . walking London can take a long time but not only due to the size of the city.  There is just so much to see that I find myself moving more slowly so as not to miss anything, knowing all the while I cannot possibly see it all.  Today Sebastian (the other resident artist here and a gifted one at that) and I went to St Paul's Cathedral to see an installation of video by Bill Viola.  Stunningly poetic and heavy with symbol, the work was yet subtle in a way that a lesser artist may not have accomplished with such images.

A coffee and piece of exquisite dark chocolate in Brick Lane followed that, and though Whitechapel gallery was closed (on Mondays) the vegetarian restaurant next door to there was utterly impressive.

In my project for the residency period, I am trying to connect with the small Cuban community here and take walks around the city with Cuban people who live here.  In the 'states' Cubans are many, but here in the UK not so much.  I am curious about the daily life, the cultural experience, and the physical movements through the city of these people.  It is a matter of connecting to such people, and fortunately there are avenues for that in the land of social media, the great divider/connector of our times.

I can certainly see how one could get lost in time here, and will hope to continue taking in this fantastic city while also making headway on this research.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss home (where my family is, so how could I not?), but the days London race by for all the reasons mentioned above, so I am trying to keep my eyes and mind wide open to the experience while I am here.