Writing an honest account of what happened last week was cathartic – ‘better out than in’ as my Nana always used to say. She was right of course – sharing the angst felt liberating and brought in some unexpected but welcome sympathetic support. I’ve successfully got myself back on track this week and have been more effective in applying myself to my work.
The impact our emotions can have on our creative life is obvious and goes without saying probably but I do think it gets a bit lost sometimes. We soldier on regardless – struggling and wrestling our way through creative deserts, not making the connection between how an unsettled emotional life can affect everything around us – and not least, our creative life.
After the upset of last week, I’m slowly beginning to regain my composure and have started to feel more centred; that’s after a lot of talking. And though not created on a conscious level, it’s interesting I think that I’ve opted to present a piece of work for this weekend’s Open Studios that has essentially put a real sense of fun back into my practice. Creating an entirely new piece of work, Going for Gold actually felt quite effortless, namely because it was easily executed and great fun to make. And simple but true – it really is a genuine pleasure to see rather dull looking objects transformed into objects of beauty and splendour with a spray of gold paint. I know! … the phrase ‘Little things please little minds’ is conjured up, another of my Nana’s favourites – but it’s exactly what I’ve needed this week, a bit of fun and some respite from the emotional intensity of last – I’m playing!
Going for Gold is made up of discarded objects. It’s laid out on the studio floor, ready and in preparation for Open Studios during the last weekend of the Deptford X arts festival, this coming Friday and Saturday. In line with the Olympic Games currently taking place in London, the piece is all about celebrating; while the world’s top athletes celebrate winning gold medals, I’m inviting an audience to celebrate their own personal achievements in other fields, to reward themselves or someone they know with a piece of gold from my assemblage of golden objects.
Unlike with past projects like 10 x10 and The Stock Exchange, I’m not asking people to leave anything in place of what they take; I’m asking them simply to take something away. I hope that as the Olympics 2012 comes to an end over the weekend and the crowds slowly disperse, so too will the assemblage of objects – depending of course on how much of an audience the Open Studios attracts.
It will be fascinating to see how an audience responds to being invited to take something for nothing as opposed to taking something in exchange for something else. The objects in this particular project aren’t promoted as being precious to me – and they’re golden, not gold. Their true, intrinsic value can only be found in the eye of the beholder; it’s the emotional associations people make with the objects that determines their real value and worth. I’m intrigued to see how it pans out – will people feel less comfortable about taking an object without being asked to leave some sort of token in its place? Or will being allowed to take them for free make it more difficult? Will the objects perhaps seem less attractive through being free?
I can but wait and see. For today, it feels good to be back on course. I have a holiday planned after this last burst of energy required for the Deptford X Open Studio weekend. I’m looking forward enormously after that to having the opportunity to take a break, to be able to stand back from my work and to look at my practice in terms of the bigger picture – how to continue to sustain it and essentially, keep it going.
