During this visit I’m staying in the Kampong Glam district of Singapore opposite Arab Street, near Sultan Mosque- a vibrant neighbourhood replete with Middle Eastern style al fresco restaurants and music bars.

The selfie phenomenon appears to be getting a little out of hand in Singapore.

My working week commences with a visit to Photographer Paul Kohl at Nanyang Technological University. 

As usual, Paul and I have a lively discussion, during which I update him about the progress of my Isolates AVPhD and Identity collaboration with Gisli Snaer, Head of the Puttnam School of Film at Lasalle College of the Arts.

I am especially looking forward to utilising an EyeDirect Interrotron device to create slow motion moving-image portraits that involve engaging the eye contact of participants. 

I intend to screen these images cinema-size as components of future twin exhibitions in London and Singapore. The work involves much planning and I should be ready to commence filming in June - July.

On to the Puttnam School of Film at Lasalle College of the Arts where I’m running film module design sessions for staff . . . 

. . . and teaching Visual Storytelling to undergraduate film students.

As well as teaching sessions and the staff collaboration with Gisli, I’m facilitating a student collaboration between both sets of students on this trip.

The project involves Goldsmiths and Lasalle students collaborating on grading the locked picture cuts of this year’s Goldsmiths graduation films that will be screened at BAFTA in January. My Goldsmiths student cinematographers are excited to be visiting Singapore over the next few weeks. Watch this space for updates . . .

After a hard working week, it was time for my other friend Paul and I to enjoy Saturday night out on the town. We started the evening at a lovely Japanese restaurant in Kandahar Street and moved on to see a great live band at the Blue Jazz cafe in Bali Street . . .

. . . not to mention belly dancing in the streets of Kampong Glam.

Luckily I woke up on Sunday morning just in time to catch my flight to Mumbai. As I depart for India, my first two student cinematographers - Mary from Ireland and Chris from Ecuador - arrive in Singapore to begin their collaboration at Lasalle . . .

Four Darshana Photo Art pictures by Gerry McCulloch (including the above) are in the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition at The Mall Galleries opening this Thursday 13th November.

Unfortunately I’m not able to attend as I’m out of the UK for the duration of the exhibition on a working visit to Singapore and India. But hope you can go . . .

The exhibition runs until Sunday 23rd November and all artworks are for sale. Admission is free.

This Darshana Photo Art picture by Gerry McCulloch made it into the final round of judging for the prestigious Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2014 - but alas was not selected for the exhibition.

The Taylor Wessing Prize is one of the most prestigious photographic portrait prizes in the world - coming this close to being selected is almost an achievement in itself.

Out of around 5,000 submissions, this picture entitled Tara Rokpa made it into the last 200, although I have no way of knowing how close it came to the final selection of 60 images. 

The photo is from a visit to Tara Children’s Project in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, North East India earlier this year during filming of the documentary Akong: A Remarkable Life. 

The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Exhibition opens at the National Portrait Gallery on Thursday 13th November and runs until 22nd February. Admission is £3.

‘Ohuna’ a Darshana Photo Art picture by Gerry McCulloch won an award at the Dulwich Picture Gallery Open Exhibition last night.

570 pictures were submitted for judging,120 were selected for exhibition and 3 prizes were awarded during the private view by Ian Dejardin, Sackler Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery. Other judges included Fine Art professor Rebecca Fortnum, and artists Clive Head and Nicki Hirst.

Ohuna is a picture from a visit to Japan over Christmas and New Year 2013.

It was really nice to meet other exhibiting artists like Hermione Carline (pictured). Coincidentally, Hermione’s artwork is also from a visit to Japan - in her case to Kyoto.

Last night Kaori and I attended the National Open Art Exhibition private view at Somerset House. While I don’t actually have a picture in this exhibition, I did make it into the final round of judging and you can purchase my artwork for a snip on the exhibition website. 

It was great to meet other artists like Liz Rajmohani Mundle and Emiko Aida (pictured with Kaori). Emiko won the Ward Thomas Prize for her etching and aquatint triptych Requiem.

When I arrived at Somerset House I had the good fortune of sharing a lift with Antony Gormley (Angel of the North).

As most of you know, Antony is a Goldsmiths alumnus and (like several other Goldsmiths alumni) is a former Turner Prize winner. He gave the opening speech of the evening.

Undoubtedly the osmosis of rubbing shoulders with so many creatives in such a tight space had a stimulating effect on me. After quaffing several glasses of a particularly delightful vintage, I began to fantasise about how ahead of my era I might eventually become - given time of course (hic).

The National Open Art Exhibition runs from 18th September to 25th October at Somerset House in The Strand and is free to enter. Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood is the exhibition patron.

Four Darshana Photo Art pictures by Gerry McCulloch have been selected for for the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition at The Mall Gallery. The exhibition runs from Thursday 13th to Sunday 23rd November. Entry is free and and all pictures are for sale. If you happen to be in Central London during those dates, please pop in to the Mall Gallery at the Trafalgar Square end of The Mall adjacent to the ICA.

The Discerning Eye Exhibition is a show of small artworks independently selected by six prominent figures from different areas of the art world: two artists, two collectors and two critics. Work is selected from open submission and from artists invited by the individual selectors. Each selector's section is hung separately giving the impression of six small exhibitions within the whole. The Exhibition provides an unusual opportunity for works by lesser-known artists to be hung alongside contributions from internationally recognised names.

Open Exhibition2.indd Two Darshana Photo Art pictures by Gerry McCulloch have been selected for the Dulwich Picture Gallery Open Exhibition 2014 and one of them is being used as the emblem of the exhibition in publicity and marketing material (please see above). The exhibition runs from 30th September to 12th October and all pictures are for sale. If you happen to be in South London on those dates, please pop in to check out the artworks and consider voting for one of Gerry's pictures for the People's Prize ! Dulwich Picture Gallery was the UK's first purpose-built public art gallery that was free to enter for all.

On 2nd July 2015 students of Zen Master Shinzan Miyamae will be celebrating his eightieth birthday with an exhibition of his calligraphic hanging scrolls at Somerset House in London.

Bokuseki is a Japanese term translated as "ink traces". It refers to the art of calligraphy with sumi ink and brush. Like many great Zen masters, Shinzan Roshi has a strongly independent, maverick streak and the exhibition is accordingly entitled Maverick Zen Traces. 

I recently photographed these Zen scrolls, some of which are hundreds of years old, for Zenways in Camberwell who are organising the exhibition. Full gallery here. More info soon . . .