39 h. ago ‘You might find it scary’: artist Huma Bhabha squares up to Giacometti with wellies, skulls and teeth

The Pakistan-born sculptor was nervous to show her irreverent work – made using plastic bags, pincers and chairs – beside the Swiss existential hero’s but tells us ‘they’re enjoying each other’s company’Two tonnes of Huma Bhabha’s works greet you before you even reach the entrance of her new exhibition at the Barbican in London. They are four powerful ancient-looking giants, with rough-hewn surfaces, gouged and blackened (the effect achieved by first carving in cork, then casting in patinated bronze). With their enormous skull heads towering above you, baring pincers and rows of teeth, it’s as if you’ve stumbled on the set for an apocalyptic sci-fi film. “It seems they’re suddenly here, as if they’ve just come out of the elevator,” Bhabha says affectionately.Bhabha is here to install her work alongside 10 sculptures by Alberto Giacometti, her first public display in the UK since 2020. “Encounters: Giacometti” is the first in a three-part exhibition series organised with the Giacomet...

Politics

3 d. ago What to Stream: 'Poker Face,' Blake Shelton, the spy thriller 'Black Bag' and Vince Vaughn

The popular whodunit series “Poker Face” starring Natasha Lyonne returning for its second season and Steven Soderbergh’s sleek and lean spy thriller “Black Bag” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you

Politics

6 d. ago Ozzy Osbourne ‘prayed he would die in his sleep’ after agonising surgery

Heavy metal legend opened up about his ongoing health issues as he prepares to take his final bow at a massive show in his hometown of Birmingham this summer

Events

7 d. ago ‘I’ll be there’: Ozzy Osbourne insists he will perform final concert amid health doubts

Exclusive: Black Sabbath frontman details training he is doing to ensure he is fit to play all-star reunion gig in JulyAmid concerns about his health, Ozzy Osbourne has insisted he will perform in July at what is being billed as his final concert, fronting the original lineup of Black Sabbath.Speaking along with his bandmates to the Guardian’s Alexis Petridis in an interview to be published on Friday, he said: “I’ll be there, and I’ll do the best I can. So all I can do is turn up.” Continue reading...

Science

1 week ago 'We had a choice: end the band or share the spotlight' – Black Country, New Road

When Black Country, New Road’s singer quit, they could have called it a day. Instead, they have reinvented themselves as the most exciting indie pioneers since The Last Dinner Party

Politics

1 week ago ‘They excavated a nightclub!’: uncovering Black British history beyond London – podcast

From struggles over miscarriages of justice to groundbreaking music, Lanre Bakare looks at the places and events that shaped Black Britain in the Thatcher yearsWhen Guardian arts and culture correspondent Lanre Bakare was growing up, he learned the same Black British history as many of us did. It was a series of singular events: the docking of the Windrush in 1948, unrest in Notting Hill or Brixton, the murder of Stephen Lawrence. All important, but all firmly focused on the capital.Now Lanre has written a book about the Thatcher years, looking at the stories that are less often told: those that took place outside London, in Liverpool – with the oldest Black community in the UK – or in his home town of Bradford. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Pop superstar looks unrecognisable in forgotten role from Orange Is The New Black before music fame

Fans of the Netflix hit, created by Jenji Kohan, have shared their shock after an old clip went viral.

Politics

2 w. ago Will Smith fans make baffling observation about latest album

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Men in Black star has enjoyed a successful music career, but his latest album has been dubbed 'a flop' despite the star planning to tour the UK and Europe with the new release

Politics

2 w. ago Jack Black’s A Minecraft Movie song becomes shortest track to enter UK charts

The song Steve’s Lava Chicken has a running time of just 34 seconds.

Culture

2 w. ago Tunde Adebimpe: Thee Black Boltz review – a sparkling solo debut

(Sub Pop)The TV on the Radio frontman’s sharp pop instincts kick in on a multifaceted synth-punk-funk set born out of deep personal lossYou would not know, on first listen, that this effervescent debut solo album by the sometime frontman of TV on the Radio was steeped in grief. Tunde Adebimpe’s sister died during the pandemic when these songs were taking hesitant shape in an LA studio that Adebimpe, now a successful actor, shares with multi-instrumentalist and co-producer Wilder Zoby.Those difficult feelings – and others, about living in “a time of tenderness and rage” – became snaggle-toothed synth-punk cuts and bouncy synth-pop sounds. On Drop, there’s beat-boxing; on The Most, a Sleng Teng reggae riddim ambush; while on Somebody New, you can hear a punk-funk echo of New Order. Only ILY, a finger-picked folk song addressed to his sister, breaks character, adding “balladeer” to Adebimpe’s varied CV (former stop-motion animator, illustrator). “How’d you get so low?” asks God Knows, ...

Politics

3 w. ago Free Barbican exhibition charts a century of black music in London

Free Barbican exhibition charts a century of black music in London  ianVisits

Politics

3 w. ago Black Mirror star Rashida Jones' life from Mark Ronson engagement to music legend father

Rashida Jones, who stars in Black Mirror season 7 episode Common People, has had an interesting life.

Politics