Simulacra And Simulations

The Christmas Market is going well, especially considering that we only found out we could do it about two weeks ago, and have had to get organised really quickly. Plus I was slightly distracted by that commission opportunity that turned out to be not quite what I thought it was….

We’re selling some work!! Which never happened before at the artist’s markets, and is rather good!

I made a large batch of traditional Norwegian pepperkaker (gingerbread) Christmas biscuits, two of which went to a visiting Norwegian!

We have a Viking re-enactor directing people to our stall, all things Nordic, but also nowhere else can you purchase Christmas cards with The Red Arrows vs reindeer designs!

I finally found time to have some mulled wine and can have a break. When we did the Christmas Market during our degree, I only had to help with the stall for one day, and contributed some illustrated cards. I was rather glad it was mostly organised by my good friend Fiona, because I couldn’t do as much with the kids. Now I just take them along if they’re not at school – my youngest made himself £9 selling Christmas tree decorations!

Tomorrow will be the busiest day, so I hope we’ll make a substantial profit.

The LAN are taking part in Lincoln Christmas Market, so this is a flying visit just to make a note of that, and to share some news – I received a very interesting illustration commission to illustrate the cover of a book about A-ha due to be published next year, so I’ve been busy/distracted negotiating the fee/contract for that most of last week, checking the details with the AOI, and it’s looking very good indeed – I will start work on that early next year alongside other projects.

Apparently the authors have seen my work and exclusively wanted to commission me for the work – praise indeed!

I’ve also been working on finalising ideas for the residency, for the work I intend to create – I’m getting cross – inspiration from elsewhere – it’s all coming together, but I won’t be able to start working on a storyboard until after next week.

Details for Lincoln Christmas Market are here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=132377977252&index=1

I’ve now had over a week to reflect on two recent exhibitions, and Wednesday’s Air Open Dialogues event in Nottingham gave me an opportunity to discuss the thought processes that I have gone through more recently with the group of people there.

When I graduated and started this blog I was keen to move in a new direction with my work, and was trying to initiate a doll-themed body of work. However, more recent exhibitions were suited to revisiting The Unreal God theme again to explore how that works in different contexts.

Maybe it’s my illustrator’s mindset that makes me work towards creating a definitive work that has a deadline, and then move onto something else. I don’t always think the same way as other artists do, or even other illustrators, because as soon as I start to think of myself as an illustrator, I will immediately come up with something more conceptual in contrast to that.

In any case, it was good to be able to share a discourse with others, both Lizzy and I gained a lot from it, it was nice to meet fellow bloggers – I found Andrew’s insights resonated for a lot of people, and of course it was good to receive some positive feedback, especially with regards to how I’ve set up the LAN.

It’s good to see that others recognise that as the achievement that it is, especially considering that I have so many plans both for my own practice and for the group that it’s easy for me to think that I’ve only just started and haven’t achieved anywhere near my overall goals for any of it!!

I feel that my thought processes have now solidified into a definite course of action for the time being, and for the body of work I wish to create as part of my residency. The dolls will have to wait now, as further discussions with the animation dept have cemented the idea to focus on an animation that merges Take On Me with Alice In Wonderland. I feel that to try to animate dolls at this stage is far too complex, or even to combine dolls with animation, and I’ve taken a step back and decided to work towards following on previous work because it’s now timely to do so – next year is A-ha’s 25th anniversary of Take On Me and the band are retiring.

I want to explore the juxtaposition of Take On Me with Alice In Wonderland in the form of an illustrated Take On Me animation but without so much dolls.

This will enable me to work on a small side project alongside this.

My Degree work has now come full circle. It all started with an accidental Take On Me style animation, then I took a banner to A-ha’s gig in Liverpool and for a joke edited myself in the video imagery…..

so began a chain of serendipitous events that more recently led to me exhibiting a banner upon the Fourth Plinth in Trafalagar Square.

This wasn’t really the final chapter for me yet. That came on Wednesday 4th Nov, when I took the smaller banner with me to go and see A-ha live at the O2 in London, where I met up with many friends, and from the fourth row from the front, not only did I have a very good view of the band that never fail to inspire me in so many ways, but towards the end, when the lights came on before the final medley, we exhibited the banner for the band to see, and it was of course greatly appreciated (especially by Magne!).

Magne himself of course had to go one better and doodle a digital Mona Lisa with some kind of hand held device on the large screens behind.

The following day I finally went to see his exhibition proper at Paul Stolper gallery – Alpha Beta is a series of printed letters, following his usual Kurt Schwitters inspired stuff.

http://www.paulstolper.com/

I decided that after hours of carting the banner everywhere, and seeing as he likes it so much, that I’d leave it there for him, and had a lovely chat with the ladies there – hopefully he’ll get his slightly belated birthday pressie the next time he’s there.

A-ha are finishing their career as a band next year, so I already know that I will be distracted trying to catch them as often as possible for that last chance encounter.

Magne also has some work at a gallery in Boston – his career seems to be really taking off as an artist (I wish mine would follow suit!).

So my installation space was exhibited for the band, and the t-shirt I wore with another image from the comic was exhibited in the Tate Modern and everywhere I went in London, and apart from missing out on meeting the band, the trip was another success!

I was going to consider this the last time I follow up the work and move on to other things, however, I’m starting to consider making another one for next year, as it’s their farewell tour.

I got back home and went for the missed meeting for the AA2A scheme. Plans for the LAN are going well.