The Tate Modern Gallery

Galleries have never been so enticing. If anything should tear you away from the humdrum of everyday life it should be the Tate Modern gallery.

It's nearly turned into a cliché, especially at  a time where many Londoners spend much of their day working, but sometimes it’s easy to forget what London has to offer. When we do have the free time we can tend to do what’s easiest, and frequent the usual places.

With a number of free exhibitions to peruse, I advise heading down to the cultural hub that is the Southbank and surprising yourself with what’s on offer in the gallery. It's two buildings which look as though they have been haphazardly dropped in place,  and affixed by a short bridge, are a spectacle in themselves with their geometry and foreboding height which allow them to overshadow their close surroundings.

As an art novice I appreciate the vast diversity in styles of artwork that are always on display at the Tate Modern. Currently, you can find an exhibition that introduces an eclectic mix of pieces, only with the theme of the use of colour in common; how the artists have used colour to depict texture for instance, or perspective, among other things is the intrigue.

My personal favourite is an exhibition showing how art has been used in media. More harrowing, and juxtaposed against light-hearted displays is an exhibition of photos of black slaves. On the glass in their frames are statements defining each person’s disturbing fate, which elicit feelings, that are uniquely hard to describe. There is nothing else like it. To meet their stare as they look down the lens at you connects you to these individuals.

Perhaps the most shocking photo is the only one where the subject is turned away from view with a back full of wounds from beatings facing the camera. It's difficult but necessary to see some of the victims of some of the most cruel and most senseless acts in history, as heavy as it may be. Art has many purposes and meanings and the Tate Modern exemplifies this to the greatest extent.