headingnorth

I have a few interesting workshops coming up – getting ready to head North for a workshop at The Feral Art School, an independent co-operative art school in Hull. It should be fascinating.. Busy assessing in my role at Norwich, interesting to see how the students have progressed in BA2b since BA2a! Onto screens – One Life – sentimental story but I think that it’s allowed in this instance. Hitman – a romantic, action, comedy! bizarre storytelling. Managed to get to see the fabulous Richard Wingate giving a talk at Kings – fabulous storytelling, and it was an honour to get a couple of name checks!

lyingillnessandsomestuff

Starting to work on a couple of jobs – mainly Firstlight in Lowestoft Noon to Moon ‘Weather Vanes & Cardinal Points’. Research Tory Lies is quite exhausting - https://boris-johnson-lies.com/ Having spent 4 days quite ill in bed, when not actually sleeping with a cold wet towel over my head I’ve drifted in and out through a whole bunch of stuff so - Onto screens – some programs – A Man in Full – tight script with a great soundtrack – it brought Explosion – Eli Paperboy Reed into my life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onRnUAJOF9Q Ghosts – what larks. SWAT – surprisingly its quite possibly the most inclusive and thoughtful program I’ve watched for a long time. The highly supportive characters are constantly asking each other about their feelings, checking in, when not chasing down hardened gun toting criminals! A rewatching of Sicario, the character played by  Benicio del Toro, when asked about what’s going on replies – “You’re asking me how a watch works – for now just keep an eye on the time” - chilling…. Got out to see the latest show from Eastern Angles – an amazing 2 person show but with a cast of over 20-25 characters – isn’t acting extraordinary. Also, at the Cut art centre in Halesworth an exhibition of stunning work by Richard Pinkney. The quality of printmaking is matched by the lively creativity displayed in the work.

backintime

So 5 days in Naples - what a fantastic place - gloriously harsh, dirty and slightly dodgy, but at the same time fantastic. The best pizza, pasta and fried animals from the sea, served in a cone ever. Did I mention pastries, the Sfogliatella, only to be found in this part of the world is a dangerous delight - layers and layers of filo pastry with a heavy cream interior. Fueled by coffee and the aforementioned cakes the days have been full - wandering through narrow streets, learning to walk into the path of motor vehicles and entering museums of old stuff that is tremendously beautiful. I have a great deal to research to include in my practice, to think about the idea of fixing and conservation in relationship to the 3D printed work. Faces silently looking from the past, seemingly to quizzically question. The Archeological Museum in Naples is extraordinary. 'Abroad' always has important lessons to impart. Leaning in to difference leads to new insights. Returning to Pompeii 20 years later was interesting. The magic of time travel is palpable it's easy to imagine walking through busy streets, bathing and eating. Visiting the archeological museum beforehand to see the artifacts gives a sense of the people and their way of life. When last there we had our lunch sitting in the amphitheater - not this time!

somethoughtsandclips

I had a clip of the work made whilst at NanoDTC in ‘Making Bread with your Feet’ at the recent Midlands Conference of Critical Thought as part of the Gentle Gestures strand curated by Alice Bell, Danica Maier and Mark Kasumovic. The work is made up of many small/short moments of action whilst reflecting. Just heard that murmur, a film made within synthetic anatomy at Kings is to be included in Aperiodic, an exhibition, and catalogue curated by Lucy Ward in Bristol. Really pleased that the work is been seen by a wider public, beyond the Kings community as it is a beautiful document of human behaviour. Onto screens – struggled with Fallout, stopping after the first episode but am deep into Ripley, just tense through every episode, with the black and white giving extra gravitas. Saw Nye – a live stream of the National Theatre play. I am sort of caught between the hybrid nature of the exercise, neither theatre nor film but the play was truly wonderful – recommended if you can get a ticket but watching a film is still pretty good. Currently obsessed with Out & About by Amplify and P Money – play loud! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EA32_-v_b8 

walkingandreadingandsittingandwatching

a wonderful artifact that contains all the elements from the crucifixion story from Santa Maria de Cadaqués. Onto screens - I was drawn to This Town – a great 8-part drama series on BBC – it explores the culture and context of how the music we call 2tone was developed. It was particularly interesting to me as I literally grew up in the midst of this phenomena in 70s Coventry, my first gig was The Specials at Tiffanys, which is now the Central Library. The show was great fun which some nice performances. Dune 2 – sand, sand, sand.  On the walk in Spain I read Good Pop Bad Pop by Jarvis Cocker – fun, with some insightfully, thoughtful comments that made one consider the stuff we surround ourselves with. The Big Midweek: Life Inside the Fall by Steve Hanley and Olivia Piekarski is a monster of a book with each tragic moment of madness captured in raw detail. A great insight into a great band.

spanishwalkingeatingdrinkinglookingthinkingtalking

So 6 days in Spain - walking eating drinking looking thinking talking. Walking for 3 days covering 56 miles with 2 days staying in a hotel at the beginning and 2 days in a hotel at the end. It's part of a walk we are undertaking from Blamed to Portbu This is our third year, we started at L' Estartit and we arrived at the totally beautiful town of Cadaques. In between there was the extensive GrecoRoman remains at Empuries, huge WW2 bunkers commanding spectacular views, and Dali's house, which he lived in for 30 years in Portlligat which was totally excellent. You got a real feel for him and the context of his making. Highly recommended, but make sure you buy tickets in advance, they are made available in 3-month batches and go fast. Dali's house in, the next bay to Cadaques is totally fantastic. Not a guided tour but somehow better. You are introduced into each room for 15 minutes with 8 other visitors by a hugely knowledgeable guide of whom you can ask the most obscure questions and they know the answer. The welcoming spaces reveal themselves like a labyrinth, making the whole experience disorientating. There is so much to see and get your head around - stuffed swans, the tremendous bedroom with matching beds, strategically placed mirrors and windows with exquisite views but my favourite was the circular room where if you stand and make a noise in a certain place the reverberation is unnerving. You can then spend as long as you want in the extensive garden which has a charming swimming pool and lounging area. Most excellent, highly recommended. Got the bus to Figueres to see his museum which was fairly underwhelming - crowds not really looking at some of the stuff left over from the 70s. For the good stuff go to the Prado. But Figueres does have a totally fantastically bizarre toy museum full of tremendously dubious stuff, you will be on your own and be far more entertained. The food was, as ever in this part of the world overwhelming some days - sharing small plates you gotta have tomato and anchovies on bread with a crisp white wine along with sardines for lunch but for truly extraordinary eating shout out to MF in Cadaques  https://martinfaixo.com/ca/celler-mf.html and Hostel Empuries  https://hostalempuries.com/

insidespaces

working on a new approach with the 3D printing, thinking about using the printer to create shapes to be made into moulds, using a different material, possibly concrete maybe. onto screens – The New Look – Nazi, fashion, Paris, frocks – what’s not to like? – well…….Poor Things – plane crash, abandoned young women, desert Island – what could go wrong? - well........Suze – Empty nest, dodgy boyfriend, spoilt child - what’s not to like? – well…….