My Serpentine Pavilion sketches from 2021
Since coming to the UK for my new life, I have been following Serpentine Pavilion every year. If you don’t know what it is, it is a meanwhile public space designed by the architects invited by Serpentine Gallery. Available usually between June and October.
2021: Counterspace by Sumayya Vally
When I was not quite skilled in urban sketching, the workaround I was usually working on was to draw a small part of the area. If any space was left on the pages, I would add more information related to it.
I enjoyed how Sumayya created the public space: every corner was different but you could find one to enjoy your solitude or accompany.
As I arrived in the UK in the late September, I grabbed the very last chance to visit and capture her work in the every first few pages in my first Moleskine Classic (Expanded) Plain Notebook for my entirely new UK life.
2022: Black Chapel by Theaster Gates
The architecture was less complex compared to Counterspace, but I only managed two-third of a page, with information added like the previous year.
2023: À table by Lina Ghotmeh
Compared to the previous two years, there were some big tables beside seatings, so that even working here with a laptop was more suitable. (Even though the aim was to invite people to sit together and have discussions.) But I still found a little bit difficult when dealing with complicated elements of an architecture, so I ended up two-third of a spread.
That said, I was more able to capture the crowd, although I was not good at drawing people at that time.
2024: Mass Studies by Minsuk Cho
The first time I sketched the exterior of the pavilion. Since 2023 I have been involved in more opportunities of urban sketching including the events organized by Urban Sketchers London, I felt I was more ready to sketch big at that moment.
The sketch became the part of my third UK Moleskine Notebook, so there are not any pavilion drawings in my second book. I also gave up the expanded version and switched from 400-page version to the 250 one which is lighter and more portable.
2025: A Capsule in Time, designed by Marina Tabassum
The current pavilion of this year. The architecture looks like nothing special but only minimal. No, I am wrong. Sitting down and simply feeling, and even drawing slowly, would allow me to experience how great the masterpiece is. You will see some people feel relaxed, and even want to put off their shoes and put their feet above the bench, in which the staff here will definitely ask you to stop.
When sketching, I realized how the pattern of the glasses is so that I could sketch the details more easily. I do appreciate that the “capsule” itself can not only block unpleasantly windy conditions to some extents, but also redirects them at the back when visitors are sitting, to ensure ventilation and comfortably cool experiences under the hot summer weather.
