"Go Ape - go what, go where? "

Working Perspectives

Zip wires and a few other propositions.

So, it was finally revealed which host I was to be given as Artist in residence. Myself and 11 other artists/ makers from Crossing Borders as part of Peebles Creative Place 2014 have been set the challenge of spending time with a variety of different businesses and are expected to come up with some work based on our encounters. 

I was allocated - Go Ape! Having met the manager Iain Ronaldson, I immediately  felt this is going to be ok especially after Iain was talking about the sound of each of the Zip wires - very conceptual. It was arranged that I would 'experience' the site and in this regard I deliberately avoided finding anything else out beforehand. I wanted it to be without preconception, which is just as well, if I had found out, I would have been fairly bricking myself!! I was not expecting the challenges that lay ahead and the psychological effect. For a start, I was with my son Callum and hey, did I want to lose face?                         No. 
What if? This was going through my head a lot, you really are put in a place where lots of thoughts whizz through your head including, "shiiiiite this is really high!" and other such vocalisations that disguise fear and ultimately, elation!

So, to work. 
I have made a number of pieces using sound, photography, painting & drawing.
Some fairly straightforward and obvious - Observational and some drawing on internal experience - Innate.

w124cm x h100cm                  Platform

w91cm x h85cm             Layout

w106 x h60cm                    Leap of Faith

Glentress Zip 7

Glentress Zip 6

Glentress Zip 5

Glentress Zip 4

Glentress Zip 3

Glentress Zip 2

Glentress Zip 1

Zip wire drawings w82cm x h136cm

Along with this great opportunity I am currently showing work alongside colleague Siobhan & others at:

 More new works that continue to explore translucency & colour placement - same rules apply. Still finding things out - still questioning - still searching.

Hmmm... well, delvings & musings

more statements of intent & pornography

It does not get any easier and in fact if anything, it gets harder. ? Well, I think it does if you are not standing still; if you have not put on the proverbial pipe and slippers then you are still not sure what is around the corner. Complacency is not your best friend and the internal eternal conundrum carries you across the choppy seas of doubt and uncertainty. Not the easiest of journeys but as Talking Heads put it : " when I have got nothing to say, my lips are sealed." How can I work out what I have to say if I do not ask questions? Part of the problem is that, the questions are in a state of continuous flux! But then, they should be.

With all of this in mind. 

 Hmmm.. so is it enough that these images are about random possibility?
I believe in order for me to truly engage in an open ended dialogue then there needs to be a sense of the unknown, a certain ambiguity about expectation; that is, I should not expect a desired outcome as this will be too controlled and will not allow for genuine discovery of serendipitous delight - of course, the main problem is that that wonderment applies to a very small section of the whole image! However, I know the answer is out there somewhere, I just have to continue the quest, otherwise there is no point. The image is the by- product of the act driven by a genuine desire to problem solve, period. It is about the mindset, a need to communicate and above all else, the demons that demand that you voice your concerns. It is also important to fuck it up and reflect, because without reflection there is only titivation and decoration. 

Delvings & Musings.. it is vital to delve and to muse, it is an intrinsic part of the creative process. This journey has thrown up so many questions about the process, it's demands and the palimpsest nature of creation. The artist must move on, to not do so is, to.. not ........ breathe. Saying all of this, there have been times recently where I have questioned the whole educational experience, when what is on offer is ..... 

Soft Lowland Porn o'the Borders

Lowest common denominator, compliant and most importantly, pleasant. 
Is this what it really has to come down to?
 Nature or Nurture?
 Lucien Freud or Jack Vettriano?
Turner or Jolomo?
   Reality or Escapism?
? 

Statements of intent

And the purpose of it all?
The awful fire at the Glasgow School of Art highlights the the raison d'être. 
Without an inner voice Mackintosh would not have given us an iconic building and the students within would not be aspiring to voice their concerns.
Without this as a driver it just becomes:
PONOGRAPHY

Searching for satellites ...

 and the external proposition.

At last I have been able to get back to EP and continue to make some more propositions. There really is a sense of searching for the unknown, an elusive seam of enlightenment that will only reveal itself if it's not being actively sought ......??? It possibly begins to suggest itself when reviewing what has emerged and reflecting on the process applied. This act of self critical analysis is an important act of making future work. It is integral to understanding what is being voiced and its validity. What is its value, purpose, merit, point, concerns? All of this floods my head and the following internal processing makes for a roller coaster ride of mega highs and lows, plus the realisation that I am only barely touching the surface in regards to the possibilities that present themselves. So, I can only reference those that have gone before, artists whose work has layers; layers of dialogue that reveal an intent to voice a genuine concern and it is this that I am seeking. It is there in their works, a connection with the material, subject matter and application. Forget labels in regards to "style", a Velazquez has the same intent as a Rothko, as does a Soutine and a Chardin. Intent is everything.

The latest prints:

The next two paintings are a direct response (others being worked) to the wonderful Alchemy Film Festival that has recently been on here in the Borders. Four days of Artist's films offering a fantastic feast of diversity. Robert Todd's Threshold and Rachel MacLean's Over the Rainbow were two standout films for me.

Threshold 1

Threshold 2

                                                         Moments of clarity
                                                         Flickering in the darkness
                                                         Moments of uncertainty
                                                         Engulfed in madness

Still seeking solutions.

Moments of uncertainty and magic.

Well the quest continues and presents some wonderful serendipitous moments. Despite the years that I have been making etchings it never ceases to amaze me how it still comes down to that moment of peeling the paper away from the plate.  There is a real sense of the unknown, the interaction between the etch, ink and paper. 

Having the opportunity to make work that is open to possibility has really enabled me to explore and pursue ideas with a sense of freedom. The psychological boost that the Award offers cannot be underestimated, it promotes 'space' - space to create, space to make mistakes, space to take risks, space to reflect - SPACE. So important.

As mentioned before it has been a technical learning curve at Edinburgh Printmakers. There have been moments when I have hankered after the solvents and the nitric acid. It's not because I am resistant to change but rather because of that precious commodity, TIME. I have a limited amount of it, once a fortnight and only 4 hours! It's not enough!! 

These are the latest works, some monochromatic single plate prints and others colour two plate prints.

As is the norm, reaction and reflection is part of the process. The works orientation is flexible, each individual image dictates the way it is viewed. Each print is a one off and this is deliberate choice, etching naturally offers limited edition printing but this requires a known outcome, something that I am striving not to do. 

The two paintings that follow have been revisited since the last post, keeping in line with previous statements about conversations being started up again. What's said may differ slightly or offer up a completely different viewpoint, nevertheless its history is embedded in the painting, it is a document, a record of a dialogue, hidden layers, memories.