Tag Archives: potatoes

Lobbing potatoes and images of trees through a pinhole

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ARTIST RODNEY GRAHAM (1949-2022) was born in Canada. There is an exhibition of some of his works at the Lisson Gallery in London’s Bell Street until 11 April 2026, It contains several sets of his artworks.

One of the sets is called “Oxfordshire Oaks”. It consists of six oak trees, each photographed with a pin-hole camera. Because the image in the camera appears upside down, Graham made the enlarged prints from the camera upside down. The trees in the photographs are impressive examples of oaks, and look surprisingly good upside down.

Another of the exhibits is a film, “Edge of a Wood”, projected onto two neighbouring screens. This did not impress me, but the third collection that includes image that form part of two installation: “Lobbing Potatoes at a Gong” and “Potatoes Blocking my Studio Door”, was both attractive and amusing.

I had never come across Rodney Graham before. The exhibition at Lisson Gallery was a delightful surprise.

Mashed potatoes

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Some restaurants in India serve both veg (vegetarian) and non-veg (meat, fish, eggs) food. Recently, my wife and I were sitting near to a young lady in a very good Italian restaurant in Vadodara in Gujarat.

Our young neighbour is a vegetarian. She ordered a veg pasta and asked the waiter if she could have a portion of mashed potatoes. I know that pasta and mashed potatoes are an unusual combination, but that is what she wanted.

The waiter told her that she could not order mashed potatoes with a veg pasta. Puréed potatoes, which are pure veg, could only be served with a non-veg dish.

We overheard the waiter telling this to our neighbour. My wife, who always tries to be helpful, interrupted the waiter and told him to bring a small dish of mashed potatoes with the pasta. Eventually, and somewhat reluctantly, the waiter did as asked. Our neighbour was so happy to receive the mash with her pasta that she got up and gave my wife an affectionate hug.

I am not a vegetarian.

Although I have met numerous pure vegetarians during the 25 years I have been visiting India, I still find it hard to believe that there are so many people, who have never tasted meat, eggs, or fish.