PD October 7, 2015; MD November 2, 2024 by Simon Tabak

A walk through London with Simon Tabak, painter, writer and actor

Simon Tabak, artist, painter, writer and actor, lives in Hackney, in North London. He has dual nationality, British and Canadian.

Pierre S: How long have you lived in London?

Simon Tabak: All my life outside of the twenty formative years in Canada, which is where I acquired my accent in both French and English.

In which areas have you lived?

I suppose I am a northerner by instinct. Starting my life in Northwest London, then moving to Canada and later moving to the North East of London where I presently live.

What bits of London do you love?

I have always been attracted to places of transition. The Hungerford bridge connecting the fast paced West End of London to the Southbank and with great views of The City of London on the eastern walkway and the Palace of Westminster and Lambeth Palace and the Palace of Westminster to the west. The painting below is my interpretation of the western view. The Nuns were unplanned and appeared on the canvas of their own volition.

What is the most interesting place you have ever shown your work?

This summer I presented an exhibition of artwork blowing in the breeze from my fruit trees, fencing and sheds at my allotment.

In which flea market have made your best finds?

My flat is rather minimal but I can't resist buying odds and ends for my kitchen. My best find was at the Snoopers Paradise in Brighton. A heavy gage oval roasting tin. Big enough for a fairly big bird or joint of meat. It is black with a royal blue interior and sturdy enough to be conscripted into a jam making when I harvest more fruit than I can eat or give away.

What are your most loved smells?

Roses in Canada seldom reach the size and variety we have here in the UK. It is not a coincidence that roses and Englishness have become so thoroughly intertwined. In the 1970's my mother grew them in all the colours of the fruit bowl. Big blousey blooms in red, yellow and orange. They delighted me as a child and are even more beautiful, voluptuous and sweet scented than I remembered.

What was your first impression of London when you return after having been in Canada for twenty years?

I took the train from Gatwick airport to London. It was my first visit in twenty years. My first impression was surprise at how little and packed together the houses looked. I remember thinking that they would not look out of place painted on a tea cup and saucer.

Simon Tabak in his allotment

Do you have a special secret place?

The Monument stands at the epicentre where the great fire of London started on pudding lane in 1666. From the viewing platform, only accessible by climbing a fair number of stairs, you can see both the city that replaced the largely tudor city before the fire. A cycle of building and destruction that continues into the present day. If New York is the city that never sleeps, then London must be the city that never stands still.

Where do you go to unwind?

When I am needing to unwind nothing beats a quick visit to the seaside.

Where do you like to do most like to shop?

Not always possible but I always prefer to buy something that has had a bit of a life beforehand, being sold by the person who made or grew it. At a farmers market, craft fairs or boot fairs. Otherwise I shop at the supermarket like most people.

Where do you go to escape the concrete jungle?

For a quick fix of fantastic plants and flowers I enjoy a visit to the flower market on Columbia Road; probably the best temporary floral display in the Capital.

Where do you go to see a little green?

That would have to be my garden allotment in Wood Green.

Where do you like to draw?

I love drawing people on the London Underground. I have a fascination with people on the move. The great mass of humanity that transports itself back and forth each day. Always variable, ever changing and not without it's surprises.

Do you ever happen to write in the street?

If an idea or phrase comes to mind on my jaunts around London I tend to tap them into my phone. Images are recorded in postcard sized watercolour note pads I always carry. Often these sketches are painted as small works of art while the image is fresh in my mind or worked up into a full sized painting.

What character from history would you most like to meet?

I rather like the idea of hanging out with Gandhi when he was a law student and living in London. He always struck me as the kind of person you could have an interesting conversation with or just enjoy companionable silence.

FΩRMIdea London, October 7th, 2015.