{"id":15238,"date":"2014-08-25T16:09:16","date_gmt":"2014-08-25T15:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/?p=15238"},"modified":"2014-08-25T16:10:12","modified_gmt":"2014-08-25T15:10:12","slug":"a-trip-to-somerset-house-and-the-return-of-the-rudeboy-exhibition-strand-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/a-trip-to-somerset-house-and-the-return-of-the-rudeboy-exhibition-strand-london\/","title":{"rendered":"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-01.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Located between the Strand and the River Thames, the current Somerset House dates back to 1775, with the neo-classical building\u00a0being centred around a beautiful courtyard.<\/p>\n<p>Formerly the home of the Inland Revenue, the Principal Probate Registry and the General Register Office,\u00a0Somerset House is now an important cultural centre, with the courtyard hosting open-air concerts, ice-rinks, films and contemporary art and design exhibitions, and other events.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-02.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a great place to hang out\u00a0with a coffee and a sketchbook, with the synchronised fountains\u00a0adding a lively soundtrack.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-03.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-04.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-05.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-07.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-09.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking over the Thames from the south wing.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-08.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Covered eating area.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-10.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d come along to see the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.somersethouse.org.uk\/visual-arts\/return-of-the-rudeboy\" target=\"_blank\">Return of the Rudeboy<\/a> exhibition in the\u00a0Terrace Rooms (note: this finishes today, 25th Aug &#8211; so get there quick!).<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0exhibition was created and curated by photographer and filmmaker Dean Chalkley and fashion-industry creative director Harris Elliot.<\/p>\n<p>The duo had photographed over 60 sharply dressed individuals from across the UK over the year, all of whom were deemed to have &#8220;the essence of what it is to be a Rudeboy (or Rudie) in the 21st century.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-11.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The photographs were imaginatively displayed in vintage-style suitcases.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-12.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.somersethouse.org.uk\/visual-arts\/return-of-the-rudeboy\" target=\"_blank\">official website<\/a> gives the background to the Rudeboy culture:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Originating from the streets of Kingston, Jamaica in the late 1950s, Rudeboy or Rudie came to represent the young rebels who wore distinctively sharp sartorial styles such as Mohair suits, thin ties and pork pie hats.<\/p>\n<p>The style was closely connected to the music movements of the time; their initial inspiration derived from American Jazz and R&amp;B musicians as well as some notorious gangsters.<\/p>\n<p>As is prevalent in the Rudeboy culture, the origins were appropriated and then twisted. The Rudeboy has travelled through time since then and evolved; in the 1980s, Two-Tone brought it right back into the frame. Now today\u2019s young men and women have adopted the swagger and adapted the essence of the original Rudeboy but for a 21st century generation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-13.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-14.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-15.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-16.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-17.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-18.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-19.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-20.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-21.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A very natty pair of shoes.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-22.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-23.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-24.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-25.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-26.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The space hosted a pop-up \u2018grooming station\u2019, where visitors could book appointments to get their hair cut or beard trimmed by a top Rudeboy barber.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-27.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-28.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-29.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-30.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-31.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In the east Wing galleries could be seen a collection of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.somersethouse.org.uk\/visual-arts\/form-through-colour\" target=\"_blank\">20 hand-crafted rugs, tapestries and fabric installations<\/a>, the result of a collaboration\u00a0between contemporary rug and fabric company Christopher Farr and\u00a0The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and Gary Hume.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-32.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-33.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-34.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/somerset-house-london-35.jpg\" alt=\"A trip to Somerset House and the Return of the Rudeboy Exhibition, Strand, London, August 2014\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A last look at the fountains\u00a0as the sun sets.<\/p>\n<p><strong>See more photo features on\u00a0Somerset House:<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/festive-ice-skating-at-somerset-house-london\/\" target=\"_blank\">Festive ice skating at Somerset House, London<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/london\/somerset-house-dead-house-london.html\" target=\"_blank\">Flow of Words, Somerset House, London<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/a-trip-to-the-dead-house-underneath-somerset-house\/\" target=\"_blank\">A trip to the Dead House underneath Somerset House<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/london\/somerset-house.html\" target=\"_blank\">Free Time In The Courtyard &#8211; dance celebrations<br \/>\n<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/london\/somerset-house-london.html\" target=\"_blank\">Somerset House: London&#8217;s Largest Living Room<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/vista\/somerset2.html\" target=\"_blank\">Somerset House 360 vista<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Located between the Strand and the River Thames, the current Somerset House dates back to 1775, with the neo-classical building\u00a0being centred around a beautiful courtyard. Formerly the home of the &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[194,43,17,193],"tags":[34,963,18,962,64,137,867],"class_list":["post-15238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-london-features","category-music","category-photos","category-places","tag-art","tag-mod","tag-photography","tag-rude-boy","tag-ska","tag-somerset-house","tag-strand"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/somerset-house-london-011.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pQI7P-3XM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15238"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15243,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15238\/revisions\/15243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}