University Campus Suffolk

Ah yes – a reasonable night of sleep results in a very full day of creativity.

Well, it all turned-out not quite as planned today. I was looking forward to attending a lecture by YBA Michael Landy at UCS, to hear what he has to say for himself. I’ve heard and seen some interesting things in relation to him.

My 5 year-old son ‘decided’ to inherit some form of pestilence from school again, only 4 weeks after his last – so I became the necessary parent today. He was fab, and really understands when I have a lot to do.

So today, I finished some art in relation to my Degree Show, some art for display in my gallery (which I was daft enough to open at this time!), some research in relation to my current project at uni, photographs of said artworks, chased a lot of artists (for info) who are taking part in the next exhibition at the gallery, promoted said exhibition etc. etc.

Very pleased to now be exhibiting art by artists who are studying at Norwich School of Art, along with many from University Campus Suffolk, and a lot of graduates from all over the place from down the years. Exciting stuff at The Freudian Sheep – which is very much set to take a back seat (a bit!) for me in the next few weeks whilst I concentrate on getting my Degree Show ‘6IX Souls’ project completed to my satisfaction.

Sadly, as life is unpredictable, there are likely to be a few ‘spanners in the works’ along the way; but blimey – I’m getting used to that.

Since I started the course, my teenaged daughter went to live back with her mother, my teenaged son came to live with us, then went back to his mother, my mother died (just at the end of last summer), and I got a bit older. My partner’s mother has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness which may give her 6 months-2 years at most. Oh – and we set-up The Freudian Sheep as a gallery to help our creative pals to get a foot on a rung. And my partner got herself pretty unwell herself recently too! Phew!

Fortunately, art for me is and has always been about the difficulties of life. Whenever life goes too smoothly, I find it difficult to be creative. I must now be in a real seam of creative genius then, eh?

Perhaps …

Anyway, sorry for all that – but in order to understand why I do the art I do in the way that I do, you really do have to see that (despite all appearances) my life can be complicated.

It’s just a phase I’m going through.

I’m inclined to believe that it’s difficult to create a ‘whole’ project without there being a series of judgements of all the ‘parts’ along the way; that is, if you’re seen to be making it.

I’m not a big fan of these early judgements, as I prefer to enjoy the moment of finally unveiling my large and suitably ‘deep’ artistic meanderings as-and-when they’re ready to be seen. That, my friends, is a result of being a ‘mature student’. Years of being shut away prior to this, making art without being judged.

My creative process has always been unpredictable, even for me. I have always enjoyed the knowledge that I don’t know where I’m going. It’s how I like to lead my life. It’s an adventure.

So, when I say that I may well destroy everything and present you all with a very big nothing … well … it’s certainly possible.

My current thinking has reminded me of the work of Arman – who would burn objects like chairs, violins etc. and then cast their remnants in bronze. My Dissertation focused on Chance as Art – and I have long believed that the natural elements can be an exciting ingredient in the process of making art, and in doing so introduce chance.

Fire can and does destroy. By this destruction, it also creates something new. Mankind has long tried to contol fire, with limited success. I am experimenting with the use of fire to impact-upon my final artworks. Whether/how much I control the fire is a major part of my activities at present.

I shall explain more about this in subsequent posts – and more about how Arman first influenced me, and still does today.

In year 1 of this Degree, I undertook a project which studied the work of a contemporary painter, Fabian Marcaccio – again, an artist who works with destruction, up to a point. I am happy to say that whilst it may sometimes seem that I do occasional ‘pretty paintings’, it is far from my make-up to do that, and it is near to my thinking to see them go …

Well, sometimes in life you just have to accept that some fictitious and well-hidden being will chuck something your way that you can’t avoid. Usually, that’ll happen when you least need an extra thing to think about. That happened in my world 2 weeks ago, which largely accounts for a lean spell on here.

My partner fell ill on a Monday when I was about to embark upon one of those tall canvasses I’ve previously mentioned – and hence I abandoned the studios. I’ve since covered all her normal ‘duties’ in life, along with my own – which has meant that I’ve been basically busy all day and most of the night – but haven’t been able to get to the studio; instead, I’ve worked whenever & wherever I could.

Being an artist who needs to ‘zone out’, putting myself into an almost trance-like state in order to be creative – well … there are few places I can truly do that. The studio at UCS is not normally one of them, so I tend to make things there that I can work on in a less intense manner. Pre-planned things.

I am impossible to talk to when I’m really working truly creatively, as I become vague in communication with others. That’s often best left for my home studio, where I can & do work for hours without a break, with my own environment and my trusty background music of choice. It’s a formula I’ve tried & tested for years, and it normally means I can produce reliably ok art.

So, what have I been able to do? Well, I’ve nearly completed the making of one of the films relating to 1 of the 6 ‘souls’. It is the sailor one, whose shelves I have nearly finished in the studios. I will post a short clip of it once I’ve rendered it (a process which takes hours, due to all the effects/sounds etc. I employ).

In a nutshell, an old nautical tv drama ‘The Onedin Line’ plays, twisted and distorted, as his life fades to the light of passing. It’ll be around 5 minutes long, and will play alongside the others on the water screen I shall begin to make in the near future.

Oh – and I’ve been preparing 3 artworks for sale at our Degree Show Auction which is coming up all too soon. Finished them this evening … they’re revamps of my old art, represented for today … phew!

So much more to say, so much more to do. Many more films to post. ‘See’ you all soon.

If you look around you, as an artist you will probably find a few ‘experiments’ you have embarked-upon. Some successful; some not so.

I have two indoor studio spaces, and a vast outside one called ‘the world’. My spaces contain some of the masses of ideas I’d like to unleash. The ones at uni relate directly to my Degree Show.

Painting/burning/slashing/smashing representations of ‘endings’, I have explored the idea of how I shall depict the last TV shows – the ones they were simultaneously watching when they expired. These are pixellated, corrupted, damaged images.

I have decided to paint on four 1.5m tall, narrow canvasses. Each one of these will have 50% painted and 50% destroyed in a way that represents each demise. So, I bought 6 canvasses which arrived yesterday.

Soon, the 50% destruction will begin, which I shall record in some way or another.

There will be questions to answer about life. There will be things to think about.

This week, we are also joined by Abraham Oscar Frostrithick, a Master Mariner in the old style, although not being terribly old himself.

Abraham has journeyed far and seen much of what there is to see. His adventures led him into many difficult situations, but none more so than on this seemingly uneventful day – the day he tried the blue drink …