It’s the last week of November, so make it count! 

Plenty to chew on
Cannibal storylines appear to be a hot topic in cinema at the moment, and the latest to add to the discourse is Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All. Starring Timotheé Chalamet and Taylor Russell, the narrative brings to life Camille DeAngelis’ 2015 novel of the same name to tell the love story of outcasts Maren and Lee who embark on a thousand-mile road trip across Ronald Reagan’s America to find Maren’s long-lost father. A far cry from the last shared endeavour from Chalamet and Guadagnino, the beautifully painful romance Call Me By Your Name shot in the depths of the Italian countryside during a hot summer, Bones and All quite literally has a bit more bite to it.

Bones and All is out in cinemas now.

Lonely Crowded Places
British neo-expressionist painter Preston Paperboy aka Nathan Preston is back in the city with a solo exhibition at Reem Gallery. Titled Lonely Crowded Places, Preston’s work blends pragmatic photorealism with abstract expression into crafty compositions that explore narratives surrounding street art, pop culture and personal experiences with mental health. Through mediums of charcoal, oil pastels and oil paints, each work is layered with motifs of facial features and text and imbued with thought-provoking meaning.

Lonely Crowded Places runs at Reem Gallery until 3rd December, more info here. 

Gucci immersion
Browns’ Brook Street flagship store has been Gucci-fied. Here, step into a special, immersive installation featuring an exclusive edit from the Italian house’s Cosmogonie collection. Inspired by cosmic constellations, the room is decorated in midnight blue with luminous stars – creating the perfect backdrop for Gucci’s luxurious offering: think monogrammed wool lame cape jacket, velvet suiting, silk bowling shirts and tiered tulle tops.

The Gucci cosmogonie edit is available at Browns Brook Street until mid-January and online.

Midnight screening
Aro Archive is an East London multi-disciplinary store-cum-archival gallery specialising in pre-owned Japanese, Belgian, French and British design – their Dalston store is a must-visit.

Their latest project takes the form of an abstract film being presented at a midnight screening at Dalston’s Rio cinema on Friday 25th. Titled, Do You Know What You’re Here, the work is centred around four characters on the hunt for a clandestine rave, “traversing the highs and lows of club culture and touching on themes of consent, sexual assault, drug use and more, all the while dressed entirely in rave clubware from the collection at Aro Archive.”

Purchase tickets here.

Emma Corrin is Orlando
Spanning almost 400 years in the lifetime of its protagonist, Virginia Woolf’s Orlando is one of literature’s most ambitious and compelling works. Now, the 1928 novel has been adapted for the stage, opening this weekend at Garrick Theatre.

Neil Bartlett’s whimsical adaptation of Woolf’s most prolific androgyne is taken on by British actor Emma Corrin whose extensive repertoire includes portraying Lady Diana in Netflix’s The Crown and most recently a steamy retelling of D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Known for becoming one of literature’s greatest non-conformists, Orlando’s character begins their journey born a male during the Elizabethan period but over the course of their nearly four-century-long lifetime genders sporadically change and intertwine.

Orlando runs at Garrick Theatre until 25th February, more info here. 

Footy scarves
A pledge of allegiance and a symbol of unity swung above heads or nailed to bedroom walls, the humble football scarf is getting its glory moment. OOF Gallery’s latest exhibition The Art of the Football Scarf dissects the good and bad connotations of the artefact as it shines a light on its affiliation with both toxic masculinity and fandom harmony. Having recently become a fixture in designer’s runway collections (notably Daniel Fletcher’s FW22 collection) and with the rise of the ‘blokecore’ aesthetic on Tiktok, football scarves are ever present and their capacity for branding remains a cultural phenomenon. The gallery has curated a selection of pieces from artists such as David Shrigley, Gorilla Girls and Babak Ganjei to continue their reputation for colliding the worlds of footie and art.

The Art of the Football Scarf runs at OOF Gallery until 26th February 2023, more info here. 

A buffet we can get behind
Foodie marketplace Delli is popping up IRL at Brixton Village just in time to stock up the cupboards for Christmas. An online platform promoting independent food brands and up-and-coming chefs to celebrate those working to push their products into the mainstream, all available on an app to buy or sell on. With a retail space stocking the likes of Fallow Goods’ Red Hot Pepper Jelly, Dr. Sting’s Hot Honey and Two Hot Asians’ XO Sauce, it’s the perfect opportunity to see what’s cool in the indie food and drink market. They’re also planning on hosting a series of supper-clubs during their residency, so make sure to keep an eye out on their socials for good times.

Delli will be at Brixton Village until 11th December, check out Delli’s Instagram here.