The Wellcome Collection

Like most people, in January I'm absolutely broke. I got paid before Christmas instead of the last working day of the month, and somehow all those wages got swallowed up over the break (the venison might have had something to do with it..)

So, as well as trying to earn a bit more money (ebay is my best friend right now), I've also been looking for some free, or cheap, things to do on the weekend. In London, this inevitably means museums and galleries, which are plentiful so there should be something to suit everyone.

Today, Harry and I went to the Wellcome Collection, a museum / exhibition centre that describes itself as "A free destination for the incurably curious", which I rather like! I went specifically to see Death: a self portrait, which is about how artists commemorate the dead and death.

No photography was allowed, so I have pinched a few photos of the Wellcome Collection website.

Calavera, Mondongo Collective, Argentina

Memento Mori, unknown artist, Germany

It's definitely worth a visit and isn't at all as morbid as the name suggests! I particularly liked the Mexican skeleton portraits and dolls. In Mexico they celebrate the dead on the aptly-named "Day of the Dead" a festival in late October / November, and one I would love to experience. Families set up shrines in their homes to loved ones and lay out their favourite food and drink for when they visit!

Also worth a look at the Wellcome Collection is the Medicine Man exhibition (so you can snigger at the Japanese sex aids and other bizarre paraphernalia, and the Medicine Now exhibition, with great art installations such as these:

Giant jelly baby illustrating human cloning and how we are all the same

Rather disgusting growth / tumour to illustrate obesity

Details on the Wellcome Collection are here. I can also recommend the cafe, Peyton and Byrne - they do excellent salads!