The LIHA Letter

LATE SUMMER - MAKE TIME FOR DREAMING

"We think a lot, but have we forgotten how to ‘think for pleasure’? As the days stay long and somewhat balmy in a layer on, layer off typical British summer type of way, we can tend to let our thoughts drift away with it.

Daydreaming is stigmatized in our culture as it is taken as a sign of a lack of ability to focus, but the state of PCD, or Positive Constructive Daydreaming as coined by psychologist Jerome Singer, can have numerous cognitive benefits. The key is to not think about previous catastrophes or dread a future event (easier said than done), but rather ‘cast our minds forward and imagine future possibilities in a creative, positive way’."

Helpful for planning and creativity, PCD is the bridge that links our internal observations with the forecasting required for future exploration. Read more here:

So whether you are managing to get away this summer, or, like us, are grafting away through the month of August, make sure you make time for yourself and take regular daydreaming breaks. We strongly recommend taking a ‘French Lunch' where possible (between 2 and 3 hours), and really savoring your meal and time away from work. Find somewhere grassy and walk barefoot or near water and vibe out with some PCD.

Here are some extra dreamy recommendations/things we have been loving to see you through the late summer:

Chris Ofili - Seven Deadly Sins - Victoria Miro Gallery. Chris’s work never misses, and this exhibition is no different.

Completed over the past six years, the reflections are a subject with Biblical origins that fundamentally bear on the human condition and human behavior.

Accompanying the exhibition is a new publication: Ofili invited seven writers – Hilton Als, Inua Ellams, Marlon James, Anthony Joseph, Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, Attillah Springer, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye – to contribute new writing. Like Ofili’s paintings, their poems and narratives are not confined to illustrating single sins, but meditate, personally and expansively, on the seven deadly sins. The exhibition finishes on July 29th, but it can be viewed online. We highly recommend the book - https://online.victoria-miro.com/chris-ofili-london/

My Moon Exhibition

Find out where you can catch this stunning moving exhibition, which captures the majesty and mystery of Mother Moon up close and personal. Click here.

Anais Nin, Under A Glass Bell

Late summer is made for Nin’s short stories and elegant, sensual, over the top syntax. Encapsulating romance, interpersonal relationships and perhaps the defining muse for the phrase ‘low rent, high glamour’. Daydreaming is guaranteed as her unmistakable imagery and in depth character portraits never fail to spark reverie.

FIND US OUT AND ABOUT IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER COME SAY HI!

Jamie Oliver Big Feastival : 25^th-27^th

Happy Place Festival  (Tatton) : September 2nd - 3rd