Snapping China as it changes for our Law competition

Having decamped from the South Bank, the Saatchi Gallery reopens today in the salubrious surroundings of Kings Road, Chelsea.

As you might imagine, the inaugural exhibition reflects the Zeitgeist perfectly. At a time when the West is stumbling, the Saatchi is inaugurated by The Revolution Continues: New Art from China. What also catches today’s mood is that it is sponsored by Walker Morris, from Leeds, one of the UK’s leading law firms with a major China practice.

To mark the occasion the City diary, in conjunction with Walker Morris, is launching a photographic competition open to all readers of Times Law with the theme Images from the New Chinese World.

“We are inviting entrants to capture the presence of China on the world stage,” Ian Gilbert, the corporate partner at Walker Morris, says. “That could be in the arts, industry or commerce and it might be on the streets of Manchester, London or Leeds as well as across Europe or in China itself. From being a closed society less than 30 years ago China has transformed itself into a global player and we are looking for photographs that illustrate that process.”

Entrants are invited to submit digital images together with their contact details (address, phone number, e-mail etc.) to timescompetition@walkermorris.co.uk to reach us by no later than Wednesday, December 31.

The cream of the crop will appear on Times Online and Walker Morris websites and a selection panel of myself, Ian Gilbert and Nigel Hurst, chief executive of the Saatchi Gallery, will then choose the winner from a shortlist of 25 entries.

The first prize will be £1,000 of quality photographic equipment and there will also be two runners-up prizes worth £100 each. The winners’ presentation will take place in London in late January.

“Digital photography is the embodiment of the new culture giving ordinary people the ability to create and transmit extraordinary images,” Gilbert says. “It seems the ideal medium for welcoming in both the new China and the new Saatchi Gallery.”

Hard up

In these tough times it is important for journalists to confront the raw reality of the financial crisis. So in the company of Michael Evans, from Davenport Lyons, I travelled west to Patterson’s, a well-known Mayfair restaurant and haunt of the hated hedge funders.

I had expected to see the restaurant half-empty and the diners shame-faced. Not a bit of it. It was heaving with well-shod businessmen (not many women in view) and they were all having a rollicking time.

As Evans explained, Davenport Lyons has a good hedge fund following but it has also hedged its bets by attracting a racy series of clients including Agent Provocateur, La Senza and Stringfellows. After all, even if all the banks collapse there will still be sex.

edward.fennell@yahoo.co.uk

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