Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Wondering whether anyone has had similar experience.


We went to Southbank today, wife took older daughter to an event in the festival hall. I was left with our 3 year old daughter. Just outside there was a woman (prob early 20s, long brown curly hair, I suspect European but not sure) with a big bunch of balloons, usual set up. Daughter wanted the Hello Kitty balloon, so I approached.


"Hi, how much are the balloons?"


Totally ignored my presence.


"Er, hello? How much for the balloons please?"


Same response.


Walked away and got some money out. Came back about 20 minutes later tenner in hand.


"Hi, I'd like to buy a Hello Kitty balloon"


Same thing.


*waved hand in front of her eyes* "Hellooooooo?" (I was getting vexed at this stage(


No reaction whatsoever.


"This is a really shitty thing to do to kids" *started walking away*


3 Year old asks "Daddy why that lady not talking to us?"


"I don't know darling, because she's a very silly and mean woman".


"Daddy I want the Hello Kitty balloon"


"I know darling, I'm sorry"



I swear to God I could have killed the cow. I don't know if it was "art" or a hidden camera thing, but I think playing with kids like that is shit.

I'm temped to say try sticking a tampon up her nose and light the string on fire, but you probably don't have one in your bag. How about just sneezing copiously on her, complaining of feeling feverish after a recent trip to west Africa, then collapsing nearby? Just a thought.

Totally normal clothes. Tried to make eye contact but she wasn't having it.


All just very weird, and it's stayed in my daughter's mind because when we were talking about yesterday earlier, she said "that lady wouldn't talk to me and daddy ".

If you google

'Balloon seller performance' an old advert from September pops up on Ideastap, a forum for artists, looking for just such a thing. It's an expired ad so you can't read all the info, but it appears to

be connected to the Hayward Gallery. Lacking context, and in the middle of the street, I agree this serves no purpose whatsoever.

http://seedcreativenetwork.co.uk/articles/2014/10/mirrorcity_hayward_gallery


"Also, outside of the gallery are stunt people blending in with the everyday ? a woman holding balloons and two men selling handbags. Not responding to human interaction or making eye contact, the performers leave a disturbing feeling to the observer, like something isn?t quite right.


Overall Mirrorcity is an exhibition full of questions, uncertainties and sheer delight. What is more, Mirrorcity at Hayward Gallery exposes us to the cross over of spaces and only leaves us with more questions as to what is reality and what is not ? which in todays world seems harder and harder to grasp."

Tbh, as a piece of art I agree it's rubbish as it seems to both patronise and degrade a vulnerable population, i.e. children, who aren't able to grasp its meaning.


As an anodyne, let's film our children giving away balloons to other children at Southbank. Like 'free hugs' but with kids/balloons?! PM me if you're up for a laugh...

A friend suggested a go there with a large sign reading "this "art" made my 3 year old cry" and just follow her around with it all day.


I genuinely liked the idea, but I think today was the last day.



Either that or it's nothing to do with Mirrorcity and she's just a complete headcase.

sounds like a great interaction, especially this time of year wen kid are bombarded with

things that they want. Its not an alien concept explaining why they cant get what they want, the difference here is money and words have been taken away. your left with how you or your child feel over a balloon.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Depends on what the Barista says doesnt it? There was no physical confrontation with the driver, OP thinks she is being targetted when she isnt. These guys work min wage under strict schedules so give them a break unless they damage your stuff
    • CPR Dave, attendance records are available on Southwark's website. Maggie Browning has attended 100% of meetings. Jon Hartley has attended 65%.
    • I do hope NOT, wouldn't trust Farage as far as I could throw him, Starmer & co.  He's backed by GB News which focus's predominantly on immigration while the BBC focus predominantly on the Israel - Gazza conflict.   
    • Everyone gets the point that Corbynites try to make with the "total number of votes cast" statistic, it's just a specious one.  In 2017, Corbyn's Labour got fewer votes than May's Tories (both the percentage of votes and aggregate number of votes). In 2019, Corbyn's Labour fewer votes than Johnson's Tories (both the percentage of votes and aggregate number of votes); and he managed to drop 2.7 million votes or 6.9% of vote share between the two elections. I repeat, he got trounced by Boris F***ing Johnson and the Tories after the Brexit omnishambles. It is not true that a "fairer" electoral system would have seen Labour beat the Tories: Labour simply got fewer votes than the Tories. Corbyn lost twice. There is no metric by which he won the general election. His failure to win was a disaster for the UK, and let Johnson and Truss and Sunak into office. Corbynites have to let go of this delusion that Corbyn but really won somehow if you squint in a certain way. It is completely irrelevant that Labour under Corbyn got more votes than Labour under Starmer. It is like saying Hull City was more successful in its 2014 FA Cup Final than Chelsea was in its 2018 FA Cup Final, because Hull scored 2 goals when Chelsea only scored 1. But guess what - Chelsea won its game and Hull City lost. Corbyn's fans turned out to vote for him - but an even larger group of people who found him repellant were motivated enough to show up and vote Tory.
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...