When the Second World War ended in 1945, Japan was a country in ruins. Two atomic bombs had been dropped on its cities and a devastated population faced a bleak future. But by the time of the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, the country had undergone a profound transformation in which the adoption of democracy had led to a flowering of creative expression. This was keenly felt in photography and now a UK exhibition shows in more than 100 images the full extent of that turbulent time, as tradition was replaced with modernity. Metamorphosis of Japan after the War runs at the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool until April 26. For more information, visit www.openeye.co.uk.
Shanghai’s history inspires monumental works
Shanghai is one of the mega-cities that's driven China's massive growth over the past 20 years – a place of sprawl, industry and colonial heritage. These varying influences have inspired three new monumental works by the US artist Mark Bradford, now on view in Shanghai. Bradford found colonial-era maps of the city at a local market, which sparked an interest in how the city has changed, been partitioned and evolved. The collage paintings are 12 metres long and will fill each of the gallery floors of the museum. Mark Bradford: Tears of a Tree runs at the Rockbund Art Museum from today until May 3. for more information, visit www.rockbundartmuseum.org.
A personal history of Turkey’s art scene
The Turkish artist Mehmet Güleryüz is also an actor. It is this multidisciplinary quest for expression that is most striking about his work. This exhibition in Istanbul features works he has produced since the 1960s, including drawings, sculptures, paintings, engravings and multimedia displays. Güleryüz's art tries to show how ordinary people have been affected by Turkey's transformation and this retrospective also provides an instructive personal history of the artistic scene in the country since the 1960s. Painter and Painting: A Mehmet Güleryüz Retrospective runs at Istanbul Modern until June 28. For more information, visit www.istanbulmodern.org.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
More on Quran memorisation:
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
