Nervously awaiting news and some new pictures

Here are some images I've been taking in the past few weeks whilst in Mauritius. The images almost took themselves, so beautiful were the surroundings. In the next few weeks I will be posting photographs that have been taken on this trip sometimes several times as I edit them. If I use photoshop for anything but cropping i will show the original as well. Hopefully this will keep my mind busy the next few weeks as i nervously await news from the Academy of Fine Arts in Finland.

Flight Risk

Innocence

I've been thinking about innocence. When do we lose it? Do we lose it? Is it like our cells and renews or is it like virginity something that once lost is gone forever?

I have this painting hanging in my kitchen and i have looked at it for over ten years. It used to hang in my parents house and somewhere along the line it became mine. It is almost cubist and depicts women, lots of women or possibly just the many facades of a single lady. I haven't looked at it properly for a long time, but today it struck me possibly more then originally. For me the painting used to be about the color and movement, but today it has eyes, today it has a knowledge. Today it is making me think.

New Year and new shenanigans

My Karelia project is now finished, at least for the current moment. I think I will let the dust settle for the next few month and then come back to all the material i have gathered, made and found in the past few years of this project. Perhaps i will compile it all and make it in to a book that comes with a dvd. In any case that decision can sleep until the summer is here and I have some perspective.

The decision to put HESA inprint on hold was also made in the new year. We will not be publishing any new work or magazines until June at the very earliest. It has been a hard choice to make but one all three of us agreed was necessary. This in turn has given me some much needed rest and free time to let my creativity mend. I felt by the end of 2012, that I was pushing myself so hard that I could not see the wood for the trees so to speak. I thought I could take a quick break but that is not me and after an agonizing week of boredom i have started up some new projects.

I have decided to try writing my first novel and so far it is going quite well. I am enjoying getting back to writing and researching all sorts of random things from poisons to the circus in the 1800's. I have given myself a target of writing one chapter a week, which seems to suit me. I hope to have a version ready by the end June. Who knows if anyone will ever read it, but I will know I can do it.

The new album by Tristan my band is almost ready. The cover has been shot, the music is ready to go to mastering and we are excited by the process and outcome. You can listen to the music here. 

I have applied to a few little art things but feel like i need to give myself some time to just make new work for now and concentrate on getting exhibitions etc after that.

Chenebier and a well earned rest

Moving on

 So the exhibition is up and running. Thank goodness, i am exhausted!

There is so much i wish i would still have had time to do, so much i wish i would have been able to portray. I feel like working at the gallery as well as making an exhibition in it clouded my view of the space and if i could start again i would organize the layout in an almost opposite order to what it is now. There is a definite upside to viewing a space through clear objective eyes.

I can't say that i am disappointed, but neither am i fully happy with it either: the work or my own energy to make it. I feel tired and like this project has now come to its inevitable end. I feel like looking at things through new enlightened angles, making work about new subjects. Subjects that are much lighter and brighter something that will balance this sorrow i feel.

I also feel like some introspection is in order and figuring out what to do and what to explore next is still floating at the periphery of my mind. It needs time, i need time. I want more time! In this spirit i have decided that in 2013 i will not be making any big solo exhibitions.

I am also conflicted about if i should say that this is my exhibition when people come in while i'm working. I am not easily recognized in any of the work so it is easy to pretend it is not me. I am hoping to get some honest feed back this way but it also feels a bit crooked in my mind.

Yesterday was my first day working and invigilating the exhibition, it is quite quiet with all the holidays and i hope that this work will get people in to view it and possibly get some coverage through the media. It feels very odd. That much i can say for sure but at least there have been people.

The opening was lovely of what i remember through my sleep deprived haze. By the time the exhibition opened i had had a total of 3 hours of sleep in about 50 hours so i felt quite delirious. Many friends and relatives came which was a delight and the general ambiance was good. I also received some incredible flowers, cards, chocolates and wine.

What i have learned from this experience is that next time i will make sure to better factor in the set-up time allowances. 

Posters and printers

There is nothing quite like having a Printers you can trust and who can deliver quality work at a reasonable cost and on short notice. So here it is the poster for the upcoming exhibition. I ended up photoshopping two images to reflect the mood of the exhibition as I wont be able to photograph the final piece until it is actually set up in the space. For all their hard work I would like to thank Juris and all the team at Printmix and the brilliant Mr. ThierryFrançois for putting image and text together in such a pleasing way.

The work is coming together and even though it still gives me heart palpitations just to think about getting it all done, I am no longer feeling helpless and hopeless.