walkingincolour

this time of year the colours one encounters out walking are quite marvellous, although it means that Winter is round the corner. meanwhile the work for Saxmundham is almost complete - spinning bookworks https://theartstation.uk/ - some films - St Francis - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9016016/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 you believe in the characters that have been created, talking about stuff that isn't usually discussed in main stream films. Bill and Ted Face the Music - well if you're a fan you will love this.... Good Trouble -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Trouble_(TV_series) is terrific in its depiction of young women's voices.

fragmentedchange

fragments of thinking - anticipating a return to teaching - this week at NUA was induction week, social distancing, masks, visors, and cleaning is a challenging - the register is a wild ride of oddness.  continuing to fold as a way of making sense of the world - some of my Summer reading titles - the choices house a mixture of intentions and have demonstrated to me the real power of books to extend understanding and take us to places other than those we think we know. Ta-Nehisi Coats - Between the World and Me. A deeply moving and intense letter from a father to his son that is 'the conversation'. There are many lessons to be learnt here but mainly the catalogue of racism and violence opens eyes wide. Tracy Chevalier - Remarkable Creatures. A sad but intriguing tale of how women were undervalued in the history of fossil hunting. Hilary Mantel - The Mirror and the Light. If powerful people want to do as they wish, even kill, they will and nobody will stop them. Has anything changed? Murakami - After Dark. Describes a sc-fi fragmented separateness of one layered night. Derek owusu - That reminds me. A tale of a fragmented memory of a fractured life that will get you rethinking everything you thought you knew. Samantha Schweblin - Little Eyes. A disturbing extension of the Tamagotchi toy  with a twist that connects our desires within our dark souls. Brendon Taylor - Real Life. The casual racism within a bio science context creates a deep painful feeling of isolation and injustice. Anne Tyler - Redhead by the side of the road. A beautifully crafted moment and its aftermath. Robert Webb - How not to be a Boy. A catalogue of mistaken moments laid bare and offered up as a lesson to all.

siteformspecific

I have some images of work in a site-specific on-line exhibition at The Cut Arts Centre in Halesworth. http://newcut.org/sitespecific it's an Interesting exhibition and my work sits alongside a range of excellent people with some great work http://newcut.org/sitespecific/les-bicknell

meanwhile back in my studio I've been thinking about the fold, concealment, duality and the creation of narrative. The images are close-ups of the 17 new bookworks created for the upcoming Station show. The works are conceived as 3D objects, although to make the work a number of rules were followed, the main one being that all forms can be folded to 2D.

Although the actual work is abstract there are a number of narratives to be created in the mind of the viewer if the idea of the body and the book are considered, alongside the interrelationships between shape, structure and form in general.

useofabook

uses of a book #20 - using their weight  to help glued card to stick together - the card will form the bases for work to show at the upcoming station show. The actual work that will sit on the spinning platforms is evolving as I use 'found' materials within the studio. Some of the papers have been 'waiting' to be used for over 35 years!

Revisiting past episodes of Star Trek Next Generation has been an eye opener; the speed of the editing, the camera angles and once I got over the very angry tone of how orders are giving I've become obsessed with Wesley Crusher's knitwear - maybe something to introduce into presentations next year at NUA.

meanwhile films have been varied - Just Like Heaven - sweet and light, Ava - we have been here before, Coup 53 - staggeringly disturbing. The BBC's A Suitable Boy addressed obliquely some wider issues, it looked good but was a little like The Crown in tone

foldingmusic

I've spent the week mainly working on a new suite of folded structures for the show at the station in Saxmundham. The pieces are based on a range of ideas but the focus is materiality and that the pieces look good as 3D sculptural structures. During all this folding I've been playing a lot of tracks as a result of listening to and then researching Lisa Tarbuck's playlist. She has a fantastically eclectic interest but her taste is always impeccable, especially Reggae and old school Soul and RnB. - some tracks to start with

Marie Laforêt - Et Si Je T'aime https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFeoX4NNdJM

Nuyorican Soul - It's Alright, I Feel It (feat. Jocelyn Brown)

I DO - Pull It

The Box Tops - The Letter

Johnny Restivo - The Shape I'm In

Boozoo Bajou & Tony Joe White - Keep Going

Don Convay - Everything I Do Goin' Be Funky

Peaches & Herb - Shake Your Groove Thing

The Delfonics - Ready Or Not Here I Come

Resonators - Sweet Love Affair

meanwhile some films - American Pickle - the tonal shifts within the film are a challenge - unsure about where the humour is aimed at although I did laugh. Summerland - was very clean but had some interesting ideas and indeed acting within it. Project Power - oh dear, although maybe it wasn't that bad.....was it? The Puzzle - a calm yet surprisingly stirring film, the underlying currents are very powerful.

installinglandscapes

 

the area around the house has the  feeling of a glorious early 70s conceptual art installation - the industrial farming provides some excellent forms on a huge scale using manufacturing materials.. onto some films - Can you Keep a Secret - you know where it's going from the start but it's very sweet getting there. Clemency - an extraordinary experience for the viewer where everyone is damaged from their proximity to the death penalty. The Judge - a 20 min film stretched to 2 hours and 20 minutes with so many cul-de-sacs of storylines that you are willing it to end....edit edit edit

bogskinroof

 

removing all the roofing felt from the studio and I'm struck by the quality of the surfaces - like a bog man from another time. meanwhile some films - The Traitor - we have been here before but the acting is mesmerizing. Rumour Has It -  oh dear - just so wrong in so many ways. Mrs America https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs._America_(miniseries) as ever it tragically seems lessons from the past continue to inform and illuminate our now.