Simulacra And Simulations

I’ve been around Frequency Festival between exhibiting The Lincoln Simulacrum, and I’ve been kidnapped by virtual clowns, learnt to dance in the House Of Mystery, I’ve seen angels glimpsed through the corner of your eye, I’ve been Ulrika for a mission by Blast Theory, whom I met to find out how this derive had been created using mobile phones and call centre server tech to create an interactive spy adventure game around the city.

I was also fortunate enough to meet with Chris and Impossible, who had created a similar sphere to our Light Space Modulator, and were doing similar things to Apparatjik, but they’d never heard of Apparatjik, and he was intrigued by this.

We’ve been at the eye of the storm, so I’ve been Cloudbusting over the weekend – my graphic novel Kickstarter has achieved another backer, and a friend of a friend has offered to write an article about it, which is really awesome!

So, we couldn’t get into the space to open up for the final day today, the door had jammed shut after yesterday’s Viking Biking Expedition, and we ended up calling out a locksmith just to get in!

I’d been sitting in the space observing how passing traffic was casting light, and I spent some time making some basic stencils to cover the window on the door. An Apparatjik on a bike and a space invader, and today the passing traffic projected these images onto the Light Space Modulator.

There was a performance by Rebecca Willoughby, and visitors had mostly been put off by the severe weather forecast, but we were all really pleased with the exhibition and the possibility for paid opportunities to follow.

Images and info are in this blog:

http://lincolnartistnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/

I’ve been saying this since January, but if I don’t get paid now, I’m now at risk of getting into debt, and homelessness.

I’ve been recommended to become a Bikeability instructor, on the back of the Viking Biking Expeditions, which I will apply for, and which should earn enough to cover the shortfall. Apparently, the council are desperate for Bikeability instructors, so if I don’t get this job I really will give up all hope…

After a visit to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau to try and get some help for a drop in income that amounts to £81 per week, and I wasn’t offered any viable support other than to give up self-employment, give up my career, as it clearly isn’t earning enough to pay the bills, and go and find some other job.

So I set about setting up The Lincoln Simulacrum installation, and we launched with our private view glossing over Susan Jones’ article about private views… ;-) And it went really well!

It went well in that people came to see the work, enjoyed the show, and I’ve been offered a possible commission / work for next March, and most visitors really enjoyed the performances and the work projected onto the Light Space Modulator.

http://lincolnartistnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/

I also got home to find that my application to work as an illustrator or a local t-shirt shop has been accepted, and amid promoting the new graphic novel Kickstarter project, today I’ve been adapting a print to fit the brief.

I relaunched the graphic novel Kickstarter fundraising pitch to coincide with the exhibition, and I imediately received an email from a fellow Kickstarter offering some useful advice and links to make it successful, it’s already received 2 backers, and is being promoted by various comics blogs and crowdsourcing PR tweets, so I hope it breaks its target!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/297268149/clou…

I spent most of Friday in Norman St Empty shop space, which was a very productive day!

I met an artist who seems very keen to participate with us and get involved. I had been thinking a lot about the Cube. I posted on Facebook a query to source a greenhouse frame or a garden gazebo. I’d been thinking it’d be ideal if I could create a sort of wendy house that can easily be constructed and taken down, and a greenhouse seemed ideal without a roof.

However, she’s offered the support of her husband, who is going to make the Cube for us.

We also have an offer of a lift to the Art Party Conference, so hopefully now at least 3 of us can go, and anyone else that’ll fit / wants to come with us.

Things are starting to happen, so I’m pleased. I went for last Friday’s bike ride feeling very positive, and the ride was fun as well, and this week’s Viking Biking ride on Sunday consisted of four of us, and not only was the weather glorious and sunny, but it was loads of fun!

It’s keeping me very positive, despite having to cope with worsening situation with eldest son.