Weeds, vegetation and dense undergrowth

We've always had conflicting feelings about the V and A. It's particularly loved by so many people, probably because it has such a wide variety of exhibits that there's something there to please everyone. However, the museum's lack of focus and its inability to properly define just what it is a museum of exactly, can sometimes grate. Nevertheless, we quite like the attitude of simply saying "Here's a load of cool stuff. Enjoy.".

So yesterday, we travelled over to South Kensington to give the place the once over. It's always a pleasure to visit any of the museums in that area of London. It's a beautiful part of the world and there's a certain grandeur to its attractions which have a suitably regal air that fits in well with the classy neighbourhood.

Anyway, the main reason behind our visit was to check out their current exhibition Out Of The Ordinary: Spectacular Craft. The exhibition consists of eight installation pieces, all of which use unusual forms and techniques. This brings a degree of novelty to the proceedings which isn't necessarily a good thing but our unease was offset by the quality of the pieces on display.

Perhaps most impressive was the piece by Chicago based artist Anne Wilson (below). Using lace, thread and netting, Wilson has created a landscape from thousands of tiny, carefully pinned pieces. It's all laid out on a table to resemble a sort of military map. The sheer scale of it and the intricate detail of the work is quite overwhelming. Meanwhile, in the background she has created a video piece showing the pieces in animated action which is so convincingly put together that they assume an animal like presence.

Elsewhere, we were impressed by Lu Shengzhong whose piece consisted of hundreds of thousands of tiny red figurines falling waterfall-like to the floor from a book. And throughout the museum, Yoshihiro Suda (top) has planted weeds, flowers and orchids in unexpected places. For its unusual nature and because it was so well executed, we were also impressed by Naomi Filmer's holographic bodies which turn as you walk across them, fully exposing you to their faults and flaws. And we have no idea how Annie Cattrell managed to give the appearance of having trapped clouds inside glass boxes, but the effect was very pretty.

This is the kind of thing which the V and A does well and every piece was both technically interesting and had something interesting to say. Our visit was followed by a general wander through the museum which often resembles that big warehouse in Indiana Jones where they store all the ancient artifacts under lock and key. There were so many things to enjoy and it made for a perfect Sunday afternoon.

The exhibition is free and runs until 17 February 2008.