NSFW A Spring Song

 

My intention with my Between Worlds series is to examine my traditional interests, conflict, mental health and consumerism but instead of the macro scale I’ve use in “Wartoys”, I have been attracted to a micro view. In this respect conflict morphs from war and borders into interpersonal relationships and dymanics. Mental health focuses less on the medical industrial complex and more toward individual outlook/place in the world and in our position or rank or use in our respective groups. And our drive, consumerism, becomes our tastes and preferences, bias and natural or knee jerk choices. Beginning this series, I was passionate and determined to be clear of my foundational inspirations, the connections of source material and walk the viewer through hand in hand to my conclusions. I have come to the realization, this is folly and I am a fool for thinking this could be. In a world of strawmen this can be nothing but courting failure. I am still mourning this, sincerely.

With these things in mind, on with the show. This is the first in a small selection of a digital photography series within the wider body of work "Between Worlds". 

 

 

 

Wherever you go, there you are.

 

 

Wherever you go, there you are, The Bond(age). The sculpture is 330mm high, 300mm wide and 260mm deep. It is made from epoxy clay, wood and acrylic paint with string control lines. This is the Third piece from my "Between Worlds" series.

The Clandestine Weights Of Any Lunar Cycle

 

 

 

 This is the third piece in my "Between Worlds" series. I thought it might be interesting to post a few insights to the development of this piece and my process in general so I will include here a few notes.

I have spoken often about keeping a notebook and sketchbook. I can't stress how important that has been for me. For the last 15 years at least I have kept a running notebook for every piece I think of in my phone. I currently have a little under 50 sculptures in idea form in a list and 15 developed out on separate notes. This sculpture was moved to it's own page in 2012 and has been developed out over time since then. Around February last year the piece was completely finished as far as ideas go and only the manual labour was left to be done and I began the sculpting and it was finished early December. It didn't take that long to sculpt, I just did little bits over a long time, I work on a lot of different piece at any one time, most of which being my "day job" craft. This is how I prefer to work. A lot is made of testing, "happy accidents", serendipity in the artistic process. I too enjoy these gift from the Gods, but I will always put my full emphasis on a long period of thought, imagination and throwing ideas around in my notes and my mind.

 

 

 

 

Below is the full page of notes I have made for this piece. As you can see it is fairly brief and quite simple but each word or phrase is connected to and queues a longer series of ideas and thought for me. The accumulation of which is the complete piece and what it means to me.  

 

 

 "The Clandestine Weights Of Any Lunar Cycle" is made from epoxy clay and painted with acrylic paint. It stands on a block of weathered wooden based that has been treated with wood hardener and stained a rich deep brown. The sculpture is 350mm high, 200mm wide and 200mm deep.

Between worlds and other places

Another Place by Anthony Gormley. 06/04/2014. 13:44

 

This was taken in 2014 at Crosby beach. Stretched out in front of me and to the sides for 2 miles is the breath taking "Another place" by Anthony Gormley. At this point I had been working on WARTOYS for a couple of years and I was already tired of it. Constantly exposing myself and researching the worst the world could offer and turning it into art. I was also not confident in the work. I hadn't yet become proficient in the "language" or the "style" I wanted, and it was slow going. I was lucky during the proceeding years as I was almost completely surrounded by art and artists almost every day and so much of what I saw seemed so sophisticated, so polished. The concepts so high. I really wanted to make that kind of art. I remember feeling so often like I was failing so very badly. Not unlike the last year or so, it was only my "day job" art that kept me in the creative loop and kept me plugging away. Thankfully, wartoys grew and I managed to learn how to talk a little better in that style and ended up very happy with it. But during the lead up to this trip to "Another Place" I was about as self-doubting as one could be. I just wanted to make something different.

I can't remember how long we spent on the Beach that day. It was so cold, and the wind was howling. Lite drizzle came and went and myself and my then girlfriend would join, chat, divide and wonder off looking and chat again. Although I'd seen "Another Place" plenty of times in pictures and on TV it wasn't until standing in between these stoic weather beaten souls did I really begin to, or maybe even take the time to, consider the piece. I'd loved it since forever but for its technical success, problem solving, haunting beauty and probably also for being what I think is TRUE dark art. But being there on that day, being someone those figures at one time looked towards and being a guy that also looked towards them was a heavy realization. Gormley punched me square in the guts. I would have cried if not for the excitement of my realization. I remember how my mind raced and how fill with art I was. I felt touched. Not in an emotional way (although it was an emotional experience) but I felt I had received the message. I felt a connection to Gormley, or at least his idea and like we had talked and shared experiences. And there is something else. While standing among these silent lives, you feel their gaze and motion out to sea but there is a sense of orbit as well. They don’t spin, and their direction is set outward but they seem connected to one another. Like the mass of planets lock each other these longing iron spirits seem to have a similar attraction, just enough to not move too far apart yet dare not come to close together lest they collide and cease. I remember saying to my partner how they seemed like planets, whole worlds. The beach, its erosion, shifting dunes, crashing waves, birds, humans, rubbish, chaos, no doubt eventual doom, was every solar system that will ever be. I remarked to my beautiful girlfriend, “It’s like walking between worlds. Oh wow, that is a great name for a series”.

It is 8 years since that day, and I have been working on “Between Worlds” in my mind and on paper since. For the last year I have begun creating some of the work, the first of which in in the previous post, a short film “A Slowly Rounding Peg” based on the sculpture “1000 lives a moment”. Like the previous series, it is slow going. I trying to learn the language and find the style, but I am, and it feels nice. I have a few pieces fully formed in my mind and a couple coming together in the workshop, but any artist will tell you how easy that is. Any subject or idea will spit a few immediate outliers out swiftly but ensuring I will have enough to fill my time for the next 10 years or so, that is another trick. I’m working on it.

Life being what it is, I have been preoccupied well beyond what I am capable with dealing with for a while now so this blog, my social media have all been token efforts at best. As such, I have been having a little trouble “engaging”. I hope to change this and deliver some new work soon. I hope you have been well.

My kind regards

A slowly rounding peg

 

 

While building a installation piece I had an idea to turn it into a short film. This is in no way supposed to be an "animation". My original vision was more a comic book panel look with transitions (wipes) denoting speed of movement or intent. For best viewing, try a big screen at 720p or higher (4k is best) with the sound right up. At the moment I have no plans to do any more video or digital work but I didn't have plans to do this either so for the moment, we'll see. Thanks for taking a look. Please feel free to offer comments or suggestions. It's been a long time since I've done anything like this so it has certainly been a learning experience. I should have the pictures of the original sculpture up very soon. This is the first work from the "Between Worlds" series. More soon.