So when I met Jon Kay and his microphone I was trying to stop the garage door slamming into his head -and his son’s. I think killing your audience especially if they have a microphone is the sort of accident that even one as dark as I would not contemplate.
Instead my voice is on this piece by Jon about Window Wanderland(1hr 42mins in)- a project where people threaten to brighten up festering february by putting ‘stuff’ in their windows. Expressing themselves.
Well I put 3 giant lightbox drawings in my garage and nearly set them alight. The images of spines – symbols of my lifetime of chronic pain drawn many years ago and since I’ve become a changed man. I still love spines. Just badgers too.
Go to 1hr 42mins on this Radio 4 broadcast this morning and I’m in the mix alongside Keith ‘s dale the dalek
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08cbp1z
Back in 2007 around the same time Mark Wallinger had won the Turner prize for dressing up as a bear, Bristol was competing for the Capital of Culture with Liverpool. I decided to add my little piece of art anarchy and entered the prized Arnolfini as Barry the Badger and waltzed around with faces agog. Some were not amused. We had fun in the book shop picking up a copy of Sensation the infamous Young British Artist thing which I remember seeing. I thought what a triumph in marketing. And what has art become? Well at best it can be an open house to eccentricity. All art should be alive art and express a little bit of anarchy. And for that my very British humour with badgers and all I offer no apology in creating a scene.
And thanks to the artful Deb Weinreb who caught it on camera.
This photo below is one of the prints in my new show and project Illness and Anarchy. Starting in Bristol on March 30th at Hamilton House Gallery.
https://youtu.be/_xWyyCQpQDA
