Working in or near Waterloo gives plenty of opportunity to go for a cultural excursion for lunch. Right now there is an exhibition on at the Hayward Gallery curated by Mark Wallinger which my Livebookings colleague Olivia forced me out of the office to go see. Entrance fee 8 pounds and well worth it.

Being one of the UK’s perhaps most well known contemporary artists Mark Wallinger won the Turner Price in 2007, and he has for this exhibition picked out a selection of photos, sculptures, paintings and installations that made me as a viewer think about where the physical realm of reality ends and the art starts.

Most noteworthy and interesting were in my opinion some of the installations, like the short movies where film clips from the 50s and 60s in Berlin have been recreated in present day and shown side by side on separate screens. There is also some absolutely amazing photography on display by Thomas Demand as well as studies in human movement by Muybridge.

Don’t miss the little unremarkable entrance near the video screens with unpublished news clips from the Balkans, it leads to a corridor with a grey marbled carpet ending in a suprise that messes with your brain…

Sneaky subversive photo of Olivia from Livebookings doing some crazy Matrix moves in the freaky corridor with odd angles and directions!

As you leave the exhibition, do go to the second level using the stairs opposite the ticketing booth and check out the band Ujino and The Rotators. Funniest and most interesting installation I have seen in a very long time. Bring a few old household appliances if you have any laying around, apparently the band is recruiting! It is for free! Have a jig to the rhythmical Rotators!

Once you are done with all the cultural stuff, why not go for stew lunch at the nearby Riverside Terrace Cafe?