Skills

Include: Braiding hair, and learning how to make exposures in Southwest America. Back soon to prove transferrability.

Wrought Iron

I found a fence that was made for pinching. It was gagging for it. Surely the iron wroughters knew what they might incite with their pinchable nubbins?

Storyville: Shooting Robert King.

Last night I watched a documentary about the endearing and seemingly clueless photographer, Robert King. I had read the review in the G2 and was instantly intrigued. I hope that you all get to watch it, although I am warning you now that it does contain the most explicit war footage I have ever seen. It is quite something to feel like you are getting a rare glimpse of images that are usually watered down for our timid brains. King's description of his process of working is what stuck with me the most, he says that when he is photographing brutal and horrific scenes of human suffering he no longer sees people or faces but shape and colour, a composition. He strives to capture honestly the atrocities we commit against each other and document it the best way he knows how. I felt quite humbled.

In response to 'Postal Children'.

The woods behind the house in Lymm are the perfect place to disappear and make dens. I think it would be amazing if you could have your own pop-up den, a space of your own invention.

Alberquiu Dam

Driving in the Dark

The best way to arrive to a place is in the dark, so you feel desperately unacquainted with where you are. Last night after two flights, one in a terrifyingly small plane, we arrived in New Mexico. All I could see was enormous looking pointy hills. I have no idea what they are made of. I woke up in the most beautiful, foreign place I've ever felt. A Final Destination.

Esben!

So this is my lovely lovely newest nephew Esben. I thought you might like to see him now that his head has settled into a less pointy shape and he has a name. Luke especially likes this picture because he looks like a rainforest frog.... Photograph courtesy of the brilliant Anneli.

Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present

It's not a good idea to go to the MOMA at 4.30 cause they chuck you out at 5.30 fyi. I had to go back the following day and pay again, but it was worth it to see all the naked people. "Why would somebody want to cause their body pain" my mother asked me. Its a good question, I wondered the same thing. The only answer is to go and see the retrospective. Its pretty powerful, but to have it all in the same space dilutes the power of the individual pieces. The level of 'uncomfortableness' was massively compromised.

Its particularly impressive to see her in the flesh after seeing everything she has exposed herself to, apparently healthy and beautiful, in her long white robe staring people down all day. Imagining her pissing into a bag underneath it.

I didn't get to sit opposite her, but I drew her.

My favourite was a woman pinned to the wall, arms and legs outstretched and elevated above your head with a perfect box of light projected on to her.

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/965

Small beautiful tragedy

To be stuffed for viewing after death is a strange fate, I suppose an honourable one however, to do so representing your species in the NY Museum of Natural History.

Much like the immortalisation of the mighty famous collecting dust in Madame Tussauds. (Just, far more beautiful to view.)

I truly felt for this vunerable specimen. I'm pretty sure it didn't rest upside down in its waking life.

The painted sunsets in the dioramas were super. The perfect excuse to use illuminous orange. Yes!

Apartamento Magazine.

I finally took a stroll to the post office depot to pick up my parcels this morning after being inside for three days with a head full of a cold. My copy of the latest Apartamento Magazine was my reward and it features illustrations by yours truly too. If you have not seen Apartamento before, it is a beautifully designed and I highly recommend you treat your eyes to it. Among the utter garbage I have been watching while coughing and nose-farting I have also been introduced to the documentaries of Adam Curtis, which I highly recommend too.

Postal Children

No way.... Too too good. The Postal Museum captions this puppy with details about how a handful of children were sent during the early days of parcel post. They just had stamps on their clothing and sat next to the postal carriers... It was soon forbidden and this is just posed. But I don't care. This is genius. It was always my dream to travel at postal price. I used to hide zipped up in suitcases during games of hide and seek. Since my sisters were never too fussed that they couldn't find me, the game would end but I would be silent and zipped up in a woolen cupboard for long long periods of time. Happily dreaming about the potential of what I'd discovered.

"Thanks for sharing"- an exhibition of art zines at D21, Demmeringstrasse, Leipzig
While you guys have all been busy voting and thinking about the future of your great island I
have been busy looking at a selection of 200 zines in this great little exhibition. Something very satisfying about standing there and looking them all through.
Apart from that I just finally finished reading the book with the brilliant title "Mad, bad and sad" by Lisa Appignanesi, the book is reviewed here.
With lots of case examples the book is a sort of guide throught the development of mind theories during the last two centuries with a particular focus on women. Different treatment forms are discussed, all from putting pressure on the ovaries to drugs. The need to put labels on mental diseases and how a sort of index of the mind has grown provides many interesting stories. Im really fascinated about how they at many hospitals and especially L'Salpetriere in Paris used photography as a way of documenting patients with mental problems, they would carefully photograph the head, the hands, the nose to note changes and try to find similarities, much like x-rays and scans are used today. I would love to get my hands on some more of those images. Anyhow, I found the book very interesting.
Im going out in the sun now because my flat is too cold, enjoy your sunday!

Election Fever.

So having been a disinterested voter for many years, this years election has got me hooked and enjoying the buzz of change. Aside from a five hour nap, I have been hungrily devouring; facts, figures and graphs, watching the heroic David Dimbleby badgering tired men in suits for their opinions and his eyes slowly drooping. This image is a proportional representation of votes in the UK so far at 15.20 today. It is a more exact view of winning seats and more comforting than the geographical map, not only in the lovely square grid but also the sea of blue seems a little less omnipresent in England. It's all quite exciting really, we have a hung parliament - the Conservative's have the majority but not by enough to declare an outright win. A bit of wheeling and dealing is going to have to be done before we find out what change we have created and the face of our new Government.

The beating of a drum.

Hey ho... the new Utterly Broken Britain issue of Five Dials is out now with Emily's, mine and Stuart's drawings. I've just started reading, and it's just great. Here is someone's vision of Britain drawn by me.

I just voted and got flapped... When things are flagrantly obvious I find myself over thinking things and being a befuddled (like what way to put the gown on at the doctor's, or how to maintain a scrap of dignity at the gynecologist, or how to change for a spa... I don't know why these all have to do with changing and booths.) I really wanted to vote for my 3 choices with a 1, 2 and 3. Three X's just seemed silly.

Crimes and Misdemeanors: "A strange man defecated on my sister's chest!"

Today I woke up with a hunger to watch some really good Woody Allen. Lately I have been trying to watch his most recent films, which I had ignored before upon the opinions of others, in order to form an opinion of my own I had decided one day (after scraping the barrel of megavideo, DON'T ASK!) to watch both Melinda & Melinda and Vicky Christina Barcelona. Admittedly I was entertained and thought that the former was still in the same vein as some of Allen's classics, however that was it. I wasn't left with anything to take away from it. And to clarify this I take you back to today when I decided to re-watch Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). Now I used to think that Annie Hall was my absolute favourite because it had everything I wanted from a film and Diane Keaton's wardrobe! But after watching C&Ms I was converted. I do not want to spoil it so I urge you all to go and watch as soon as you finish reading this.

However I would like to share some of the things I have been thinking about after my delightful day watching Woody. The film is a classic Woody Allen narrative structure, with many relationships and stories being played out for you. One of my favourite characters is Professor Louis Levy, who is the subject of a documentary that Allen's character is making. I know that he is an imaginary person but I think I would like to have tea with him and shoot the breeze. He philosophises on human nature and why love is vital to live; how a relationship is our attempt to return to the past but also an attempt to undo our past. Love is a contradiction! He describes it quite eloquently. He finishes by proposing a theory to existence and I would like to know what you think. He states that; we define ourselves by our moral choices, great or small, that the design of creation seems to be unfair and unpredictable and human happiness is not considered. However we with our capacity to love can find meaning in the indifferent universe by finding pleasure in the simple things - family, career, friends, interests. I am not too sure about the term 'simple things'. Sometimes they appear infinitely complicated. I am playing with this idea of simple/complicated but I am not sure where it's going yet.

Providence

Its hard for me to sleep past six. This would be OK if I was a zebra finch. At least theres plenty to explore.

Nephews vs. Birds

Nephews vs. Birds

Here is just the bottom and beginning of the second tier of the growth chart I made just in time for my second nephew's birthday. I managed to score a brand new third nephew as well. Just born three days ago. It's all very exciting and brand new...

He came out at 52 cm, so it seems no nephew of mine will ever get to enjoy being sized-up to a zebra finch. But, it's good to not start on the bottom rung and to have something cool underneath you from the get-go.

News from Germany.

Hej,
This is Nadja signing on from Germany land.
I just returned here after a week home in Sweden, a painful wisdom tooth operation and a weekend with friends in Copenhagen. Somehow, and mysteriously, a lot of fellow students from the Glasgow time seem to be living there now, very nice indeed.
At the moment all Im doing is getting ready for the show in Amsterdam on the 22nd of May, I bought tickets to get the train there today and tomorrow I am going to the printers to see the proofs of the new catalog, which should be very exciting!
In Leipzig, where I live, more or less since four years now although I don't like admitting it, there's an area called Spinnerei and last weekend the eleven galleries there opened new exhibitions. Since I just got back I have only had time to look at one of them, two friends from Ireland are exhibiting in the Filipp Rosbach Gallery, David O'Kane, have a look here: http://www.davidokane.com/, and Carol Anne McGowen, who's beautiful music you can listen to here: http://www.myspace.com/carolannemcgowan, or see live on Thursday, if you happen to find yourself in Dublin.
The little bird above is my studio companion, found in a dusty shop. Somehow it's skeleton have collapsed, I tied it back together but it's an anatomical disaster. That's all for now, tonight is a lazy evening.

I have landed.

64 lengths

Oh! also, I just swam 64 lengths.

Apparently that is a mile.

It was outside and I was wondering something...

When you swim underwater, and look directly upward, you can see through the surface of the water, but from an angle, you see the reflection of the bottom of the pool, so it looks kind of silvery.

I wonder at what angle the effect changes, and if I can somehow make a picture from both effects at the same time, or something...

Leaving on A Jet Plane

Wow! We are now a blog.

Super.

And perfect timing because I am going to America tomorrow for four weeks, and I want to remember what I did (or didn't) do when I get back. And I want you to know too.

Right now I am having an issue with trying to decide which and how many cameras I will allow myself to take this time.

I'm trying to make it one, but it just feels wrong.

Temporary PLATS.

Welcome to the temporary site of Plats' collective. We have decided to move to a more appropriate medium of documenting our creative practice. As a group we hope to engage our audience in a dialogue of images, words and sounds, hi and low culture.

Plats Manifesto.

1. Productive.
2. Insightful.
3. Question.
4. Excite.
5. Prolific.
6. Thoughtful.
7. Bloody Talented (and can pretty much do anything.)

Let's Play!