Days can go by sometimes without there being much of real significance in the news. This week has been different; January 3rd 2012 was a momentous day for the British legal system and I can’t not acknowledge it here; after an eighteen year struggle by his family, the summing up of the Stephen Lawrence case has finally seen two people convicted of his murder – some justice at last for the Lawrence family.
This welcome news came after a spate of bad news stories. In the car on my way home on Tuesday – a news bulletin, shocking as it came through on the radio – reported, one after the other, various fatal stabbings and shootings that had taken place over the Christmas period. The perpetrators according to reports ranged from unassuming, ‘quiet’ people to those who had been exposed to a lifetime of violence. One of the incidents had happened on the street – a random act of violence against an innocent student who’d simply been in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ – but the majority had happened in domestic situations.
Ironically, I’d been at the Easter Road football stadium with my family just the day before where the issue of domestic violence had been highlighted. A huge white ribbon was carried onto the pitch by one of the players before the match started and all of them wore a white ribbon during it to show their support in addressing the crime of domestic abuse. I read a report recently that revealed that figures for victims of domestic violence had soared, up by some 35% during the recession of 2011.
I can’t separate any of this from my life as a practising artist – for as long as I can remember, I’ve felt socially engaged and what’s happening in the world around me still touches me and affects my day to day existence. I’ve had some time to reflect on this since losing my studio and it’s been invaluable in firming up my beliefs and intentions for the future. October 31st 2011, the day I lost my studio space, was a defining day for me; it was when I realised just how integral my role as an artist had become to my daily life. And buoyed up by the support of others, I realised that I wasn’t going to discard a lifelong collection and I wasn’t going to abandon my vocation as an artist. I felt that I was no longer playing at being an artist – I felt like I was one.
A lot of what I’ve written about on this blog so far has centred around people and relationships; they have been a key part of 2011 and in 2012 I’d love to be able to strengthen the connections I’ve made with some of the artists I’ve met; not only are they people who have social consciences and share similar values to my own, but they are people who have encouraged me and complimented my work, instilling in me the confidence to keep on doing what I do.
But as well as nurturing and maintaining relationships, I also want to just get on with making some work – this blog’s contained a significant lack of discussion about any actual work for some weeks now, I’ve noticed and I’d like to feel that I’ll be able to address the balance of the two in the year ahead. I’m hoping it will all start to fall into place once I’ve allowed myself a bit of time to settle into the new studio space. That’s something I’m really looking forward to; the holidays are over – my sons started back at school today, made all the more poignant as I think of Doreen Lawrence’s loss. In terms of Keeping It Together, there can be no finer inspiration than her.
