Since being back from Finland I am struggling to get back into work. I have to force myself into getting things done whilst juggling paid work and reflecting on what projects to go ahead with. I have lots of ideas however I then get to a point of confusion with which ones to take forward. Time is precious and I get a little anxious about what I can actually fully realise with little money. Most of my projects are small scale but sometimes I worry that I should be working towards something bigger. Living in the age of the spectacle I feel my work may be lost. Although I think this is a reason to carry on and to not give into external pressures. I have started researching the ‘Free Bus’ project that I hope to realise as part of the Manchester Art Crawl.
http://manchesterartcrawl.co.uk/default.asp
I feel this project has got legs and with some support could grow into a larger piece. I have been developing a loose structure to facilitate other people to create a short tour on the bus. From my observations on the bus I can then sub categorize them into actions and statements, which could be used in a script. I have a meeting at the Bluecoat in Liverpool on Saturday to discuss a performance piece called Departures 2, which will feature at Poolside Emergency.
http://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/events/view/events/9…
This week I have been editing the plane video adjusting the speed and scale of the piece. I need to experiment with whether the video reads well on the back of my t-shirt and where the projector/laptop will be placed. Questions I need to consider are: Were to meet the viewer? Can I use other places such as the lift or corridor before entering the studio? What to wear? Minimize or expand performance before viewing video? Were to buy cheap battery operated lights?
Just come back from a wonderful eight day holiday in Finland having mostly pleasure and doing a little bit of work. Mr Smith and myself enjoyed the great architecture of Helsinki and the wilderness of ‘the island’ that consisted of lots of rocks and trees surrounded by the stillness of the sea. Sometimes you just need to be reminded of what is really necessary such as eating, sleeping, walking and keeping warm. Although even in the wilderness I still want to make work. I have had this idea for a while of an image of myself in the pose of a plane that has failed to take off. My friend Anna thought it looked more bird like and in some of the photographs I appear to have been washed up on the rocks. We stayed with my friend Anna Puhakka who is an artist, writer and founder/editor-in-chief of a publication called Hesa Inprint (http://www.hesainprint.com/issues). We visited the gallery that she works in called Gallery Jangva a commercial exhibition space in Helsinki (http://www.jangva.fi/exhibitions.html). I needed to do a short rece of the space and sign contracts for The Evente, which I will perform in August as part of an event at the gallery. On the night there will be an exhibition of an artists work, myself performing The Evente, another performance artist and a band. I needed to check were best to place the stand and how to attach the balloons to the ceiling. I really like the idea of promoting the performance during the day on the streets by walking around the city in costume or having the stand situated in a busy part of town. This event will be part of Helsinki’s night of the arts, which I am really excited to be taking part in. Anna invited me to perform at the event and we also plan to go to her summerhouse in the forest a week before to make some work together. We have been friends since uni and worked together as part of the artist collective BaseNorth. We both make live art although I am seeing the curator starting to emerge in Anna she is one to look out for in the future.
