Simulacra And Simulations

I’m so excited about my upcoming trip to Oslo that now the flights are booked, the hotel is booked, and I’ve planned out what I’m going to do while I’m there, aside from Apparatjiking at the brand shiny new Astrup Fearnley museum. There’s an exhibition at the Nasjonalmuseet called “I Wish This Was A Song: Music In Contemoporary Art” http://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/sb5-nasjonalmuseet.no/en/?module=EventCalendar;action=Event.publicOpen;ID=782;template=exhibitionView_en

that I hope to go and see. Some of my comics might accidentally be left in the cafe. Whoops!!

Other than that, I hope to visit some typical tourist destinations in Oslo, and meet up with friends and a fellow illustrator whilst there.

A week ago I was stopped mid stride when I received a letter from HMRC to say that my tax credits would stop.

I exist on tax credits mostly. There are some that think I should never expect to earn any money otherwise. So this would mean total destitution. I was, as you can imagine, quite horrified.

Fortunately, a panic ridden phonecall managed to rectify the situation. But whilst I keep on making work as best i can, or for the duration of the school holidays, trying not to, the thought that is most on my mind is that I’m only effectively going to be a single Mum for another 4/5 years now. Once Brett hits 18, I really will need to have a properly paid job in order to live. At the moment I’m hoping I’m successful with a paid internship that I applied for. It might cover the £30 rise in the gas bill that has just landed in my inbox.

Fellow illustrator Lauren Waterworth posted the Facebook status “Job now please” To explain, she added:

“I was told that if I worked hard at school I would get a good job and lots of money. I’m still working hard at school….”

I’ve started to plan out an LAN pop up exhibition at the Empty Shop space, and already some exciting things are happening. We will be hosting a digital art exhibition in an old arcade alongside, along with other work within the Empty Shop space itself.

https://www.facebook.com/events/408385279222491/

Today, however, as the kids have only gone back to school, I’m enjoying tidying up and Things Staying Tidy, and downloading a Beast Jesus Restoration Society badge – not doing anything particularly useful!!

I’m really not meant to be working just now. It’s the summer holidays, and any attempt to even do mindless nothingness in my studio is constantly interrupted by the 13 year old. I’m applying for the AA2A scheme again to support my graphic novel writing and the upcoming Empty Shop projects.

I’ve been doing loads of work on the graphic novel, but have decided to put it on hold for now, even though I keep bursting to work on it, being a single Mum means I can’t really focus on it right now, so I’m not going to torture myself by trying. If I manage to get a few spare minutes I might, but I’m trying to enjoy some time out if at all possible.

The Mail Art exhibition is being postponed until October. The Empty Shop space is going well and is finally coming together, but it was decided that it’d be best to wait until after the summer holidays, when I can properly focus on it, and the space will be ready.

Otherwise, I was invited to a private view for a sculpture exhibition at Doddington Hall. Reluctantly I went. It was very posh, with champagne and canapes, and I hoped I’d know someone there, but there was only one person I knew. I found myself instinctively photographing the pieces, but didn’t really have an opinion on any of them. I found most of the work there lacking in something. Then I started to google the artists, and there was a review by Jonathan Jones in the Guardian criticising one of them. So I don’t think much of that now. It included no one I know, except for a blacksmith that once attacked me on Facebook.

I really think that by September / October things will start to happen again. But I have of late been feeling like another poster on here, that there’s only so much energy you can put into still continuing your practice with little or no support before your batteries start to wind down.

For now, I’m looking forward to going back to Oslo – I can’t wait to go, but wait I must!

I’ve been busy all last month forgetting about failed efforts to be an artist, and focussing on updating my illustration portfolio, I received my copy of a book I was commissioned to illustrate last year that has recently been published, and am now developing a self-directed series of illustrations based on Rhiannon, the Fleetwood Mac track, and Stevie Nicks’ The Three Birds Of Rhiannon http://blackbirds-birdhouse.blogspot.co.uk/

Which seems apt.

This has since developed further into a fully formed concept for a graphic novel, which Eric Drooker of Flood fame says he’d be interested to see when it’s finished.

I’ve always wanted to create a graphic novel based loosely on some of the hideous events that have happened since graduation, but have been too busy fighting to keep a roof over our heads, whilst applying for opportunities that never quite manifest, to even contemplate starting such an ambitious thing.

I’ve been accepted to present a talk for Beacon Bi-monthlies some time later this year, which should be good, have submitted some work for OPEM2 at The Collection, and still have my trip to Oslo to arrange, just been distracted by eldest son’s G.C.S.E. exam period.

As for the LAN, the Empty Shops project that I’ve been waiting for over 6 months to get going is hopefully getting off the ground in the next few weeks, and when it does, I plan to curate a Mail Art exhibition there in August. So a lot of plans in the pipeline, things do seem to be happening, just a lot more slowly than I’d really like.

Today I received news that my funding application for my proposal for Frequency Festival 2013 wasn’t successful. I had some serious doubts last week that if it wasn’t I would just give up the LAN completely. I’m bogged down with the whole Orange fiasco still, which keeps going round in circles and no sign of any relief yet, and most of the time I have no idea why I keep on trying to get anything going at all.

However, despite feeling this way, there was news recently of someone that can help out, Chris Heighton has a new position at the UL with fundraising for Frequency, and I’ve got in touch with him to arrange a proper meeting in the hope that he can help get me the funding I need for the group of us and to realise my idea. I met him yesterday at an arts networking event, but didn’t get the time to chat to him properly.

I’m still waiting to hear whether I’m successful for some other commissions I’ve applied for, and in the mean time, I’ve decided to concentrate on another exhibition we’ve been offered, with interest from 10 artists so far. This will be at Whisby Natural World Centre.

I’ve had an envelope sitting in a drawer in my studio since it was sent to Oslo and then returned at the time of the July 22nd events there in 2011. I documented the events as they unfolded on the envelope at the time, and Dan Thompson posted a link for this Mail Art exhibition: http://marielouiseplum.com/ – for which I have added various paraphernalia from my last visit to Oslo in 2010, including a Norwegian newspaper story about love letters, my ticket to the recent Headhunters film that I went to see last week (still awaiting news of my Norway visit), and added 77 Nordic hearts, to represent the 77 victims. I was going to post it this afternoon, but it’ll have to wait until tomorrow now.