Bob Marley: One Love Experience Exhibition at Saatchi and Saatchi Gallery, Sloane Square

The VIP experience of Esther Austin, CEO of TurningPoint: Your Lifestyle, Your Well-Being Magazine and Tony Jazz, Fine Dining Contributor and Bespoke Lifestyle Consultant.

Bob Marley one of the most influential musicians and humanitarian influencers the world has known. An Icon on many levels who bought the world together in unprecedented ways, who bought the sound of reggae and his powerful message of love to the world creating a global heartbeat of the people. A mouthpiece for the people.

This exhibition showed the many different aspects of Bob Marley, focussing primarily on him as an artist, as well as exhibiting and showcasing incredible pictures, images, paintings, memorabilia from fans from all over the world. Bob was captured on canvas, video, textures and hues of creative genius that gave this icon presence in how he was depicted and experienced by his fans. A legacy that will certainly live on in the hearts, minds and experiences of us all forever.

His music jammed us into those two step moves, with a dip and a jive, as we danced through the Gallery, aesthetically drawn into moments of his life. Natty Dread, No Woman No Cry - oh the nostalgia!! His music taking us down memory lane, to who we were, where we were at and what we were doing when each track was played. Faces lit up with these memories, and with a nod and a glint of memory in the eye, us as visitors, somehow connected seamlessly with each other, predominantly through the music whose roots were so much more than just beats, this music was history, legacy and the heartbeat of the experience of a nation.

The Gallery was a hive of colour, representative of the belly of The Caribbean, and the island of Jamaica. Red, Golden Green the colours of the Jamaican Flag that beckoned to the sun, sea and sand in our hearts. Some we spoke to said the Exhibition lacked that real, grass roots feel of Jamaica, i.e its raw earthy touch such as the representation of Jamaica's food, the land, and the culture, her people. Maybe the addition of the hustle and bustle of the market place or life in general where music, food and animated dialect created a bigger picture, the struggle, of Jamaica and the Icon who was born there.

There were more playful moments as we grabbed wooden play guitars and

strung ourselves silly. Then there was the fabulous VIP guest experience in the VIP Lounge were we sipped drinks and watched as a band prepared to perform later that evening.

Another great experience was the living room, another jog down memory lane. All in all a really pleasant experience of a great man. I would like to suggest we listen more closely to Bob's words of wisdom. We nod and dance to the music of many icons and legends. We revere them, and hold them dear to our hearts. We listen to their songs but do we ever really hear what they say?

One of Bob's greatest messages to mankind ever that will stand throughout eternity.

We ended the evening dining at The Botanist which comes highly, highly recommended. Great atmosphere, and food to literally die for. https://www.thebotanistonsloanesquare.com/

Exhibition Until 18 April, Galleries 6–14 WWW.SAATCHIGALLERY.COM

SAATCHI GALLERY, DUKE OF YORK’S HQ, KING’S RD, CHELSEA, LONDON SW3 4RY