third year

IT has been a really long time.

Third year at the Courtauld Institute of Art is taking its toll: I'm revising for my final's at the moment. I've just emptied half a jar of Horlicks into an abnormally large mug, hoping that it might live up to its word and I may finally have a good nights sleep after the trauma of my dissertation.

Maybe I should start where I left off.

A recruiting consultant told me that, as a History of Art graduate, "you'll be an unpaid intern for two years after your degree, followed by an entry level salary of twelve thousand pounds" Safe to say a part of me died inside.

So I went in search of greener pastures. After Jamie's I went on to intern as a marketing analyst at Stylus.com, an innovation and trend forecasting website. It was awesome.

I moved into my beautiful new flat a few weeks after my last post. I am completely, head over heels, in love with it. Check out the view...

A room with a view: London from my window 

This was before third year started. I'm not sure where the time has gone since then.

I spent 10 weeks studying Medieval French art - a surprisingly interesting subject. I lied, but I have another 2 weeks of revision so I need to convince myself that it is. My resentment was tempered somewhat by the free trip to Paris, and, honestly, it was incredibly refreshing to see beyond the 18th century additions to the city.

Paris from the Pompidou

From France I went east to India (not literally) to the Mughal dynasty. Mughal art is complex: it is not aesthetically naive or conceptually redundant, like many people believe to be true. The subject has come to the foreground of historiographical enquiry with the various exhibitions on its art and culture in the past couple of years. The Mughal India exhibition at the British Library provided the most comprehensive collection of art and artefacts from the period. In amongst the odd wooden edifices that littered the exhibition was some of the most fascinating manuscript miniatures I have seen. So fascinating in fact, I wrote my dissertation on it.

Shah Jahan on a Terrace Holding His Portrait, 1627 

This is where I have been the last three months. Writing my dissertation.

When people ask what it's on, "turbans" is my reply. Don't laugh, I did not envisage myself writing 5000 words on the subject either. Technically it is on the portrait miniatures distributed by the Mughal emperor's as a sign of merit, that were worn on the turban, known as shast. Hopefully I have made some new discoveries on the subject with the help of the British diplomat Sir Thomas Roe - we will see when I get my mark!

14 June is the close of East Wing X, the end of an era really. East Wing XI is already taking form and the new team is looking absolutely incredible.

East Wing X poster 

For now, I have exams in 2 weeks, graduation in a month, and a mammoth job hunt after that. So much is going to change in the next few months, it's a bit overwhelming. So watch this SPACE...