autumnal
trying hard to keep in mind
the place
the air
the openess
of the chateau
but it arrives
momentarily and
then slips away again
to practicalities then
what will fit in the car
what will last
in the damp petite maison
don’t want things to
unpaste themselves
curl at the edges
wet mount photos
photocopies
repeat and make patterns
have made some
diversions into assemblages
of objects and their photographs
a kind of portraiture
for the discarded object
questioning perhaps
what is real and what’s an image
and how do they relate
a reminder of Steyerl’s
defence of the poor image
digital files turn to prints
that become photocopies
and Instagram moments
which are blogged
and transmitted
into the ether
liked, ticked, loved
commented on
and ignored
unseen
another diversion
perhaps more romantic
is into mantelpiece art
ha ha – a new (!) and strange format
perhaps
but a riposte
to the fleeting
shadows
and hidden corners
of this
19th century chateau
which somehow feels
suffused with Flaubert’s
Emma
her aspirations, fantasies
longings and obsessions
her need for
love, romance, society
furniture, fine clothes
position and parties
seem to reverberate in
the ancient wallpapers
and thick drapes
the meandering maze
and scented sunny lawns
in the potager and rasberry canes
in the stone floors
and brightly coloured paintwork
the spotted mirrors
throwing back at you
the hazy light
seeping through the shutters
on a sunny afternoon
throwing back at you
a procession of
women sequestered
by the stifling conventions
of previous centuries
Hedda Gabbler
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Lily Bart
Mildred Pierce
Blanche Dubois
etc etc
anyway…
a last minute project
to finalise and get to printers
it’ll be a stretch…
