Cringing
Studio Visit.
It's a
contact thing - I don't have anything specific in mind, no plans, no
expectations.
A studio
visit is a chance to re-present myself, redefine what I feel the general
context of my work is. I would like to do that through a curator, reporter,
organiser, someone who is by definition, capable of standing aside from the
actual physical production of artwork. (and maybe even feels superior in an I'm
in control kind of way)
I have been
living and working in Birmingham for nearly twenty years and as yet haven't
made any contact with any public galleries even though, my larger work has
always been in the public domain.
I like to
have a project on the go, as it were - at least something big once a year.
Although I'm afraid that the last couple of years have been rather devoid of
that kind of enterprise. A point at which I feel I could shake my direction up
a bit - put myself in a position with no preconceived outlook: a "what
if" situation.
I do believe that I am "my own man", but I also enjoy working on
projects with other people. I find it grounding, challenging and informative.
I am a prolific,
scruffy bastard, seemingly coming up with everything at once - I rarely produce
something tidy and finished. I'd like the chance to show my work off in its
studio environment, I feel it would be more readable, even understandable. Not
coming over en-mass, but open to scrutiny from different angles.
I make and
paint things, but I like to put what I produce into a kind of context - either
made for a specific space or finding one that fits.
This could be in the form of structural building, murals, published on the internet
or exhibition space.
I have
chosen ___________ from the Icon as my studio is local to that place, this as such, would make an
easy visit.
Writing
about a studio visit has pushed me into making a web site, something I haven't
done for 3 or 4 years!
Recent
projects since the Margaret Street MA.
@ e-mail show
Inside St Martins
Relocation, Radioactive, Grotto, Live/work 1 - X-Ray Factory, Smethwick.
The Green Street Show
Festival of Xtreme Building
Perry Barr Bus Depoy Murals
The Argonauts - Birmingham Library
Culturally Correct Web Site
More recently, I have been working on a series of contemporary
pub signs and am building outdoor structures.
and - - -
I am an artist, it is what I feel my life is about.
I am primarily a painter although I do get involved indeed am also trained in other forms of expression.
I was born a baby boomer in 1951. I grew up in Shepherds Bush, London surrounded by Bob Dylan, the Beatles and Psychadelia, this shaped me and has remained there ever since. My father had a cross cultural background, he was a prominent figure in the Indonesian Embassy which was formed in Grosvenor Square after the overthrow of the Dutch after the second world war. My desire to travel and meet people is a strong one - probably following on!
I lived in London until I was twenty seven, I then moved to Cardiff and met my wife, Anne. We lived there and also spent possibly more time during that period abroad than there: a couple of years in India and time in Thailand and Indonesia. Moving to an apartment in Istanbul for three years. We left a year after our son, Aydin was born and settled in Birmingham, England, with two dogs by a lake near Spaghetti Junction.
My family owns about 8 acres of bog-land in Pembrokeshire, a long way from anywhere. We bought it, and have lived on it since 1970. I have returned there constantly throughout the years
Following which, I took on a post degree M.A. course which changed my out look and my sociological life, interacting with a lot more people and participating in a lot more projects and events.
I am slightly maverick and can be a bit over sensitive.
Although at present I am home based, I do like to move about, I like to have my fingers in different pies. I am fairly gregarious and on occasions, I can "team lead" and organise events, shows and publications.
I like to be outside, I have a couple of dogs, I do a bit of gardening and a fair bit of cycling albeit not particularly for pleasure. I'm good at collecting and archiving, I was a finds assistant for a while. I like to play and work hard. I can get upset if a day goes by where I feel I haven't achieved anything.
All pertanent art must be about “ the times” – otherwize it's just an expression that may or may not hit the mark. Even statements about ” the perpetual nature of----“ must be seated from a contemporary perspective.
I consider myself to be very much a product of my time , which hopefully is reflected in my work and life as it passes through changing times Artistically I came into being on the cusp of post-war Britain. I contain the observations of a baby boomer, in fact one that is seeing that contemporary post war issue getting old – becoming what it was rebelling against Times of want instead of times of need. A chance for art for art’s sake all round.
I feel my work is partially about coping with rapid change in an old fashioned way. It falls between very different schools of thought, starting off in an old fashioned painterly note and then colliding with many elements of post modern thought. Although, I feel I could take post modernism back to the mid sixties where things were generally being changed and shaken up. A period in which you didn’t have to be part of the art establishment in order to have your say, produce art, just do it. Kind of Joe Public becomes Da Da.
I like working with my hands, building things, fitting into situations. I'm pretty prolific and don’t feel comfortable when I'm not producing things.
My work often comes out in a full-on eidetic fashion, part of that process that I grew up with. I wonder nowadays how necessary is it to even have skills: as an artist.
I like to scavenge and recycle – a sign of the times.
I like working with my hands, building things, fitting into situations. On the face of it, my work can seem to be “outsider art” – but, outside of what? Possibly outside of current ways of portraying stuff. I do feel that it is very much comment coming from the ground upwards what ever format it appears in.
