University of Plymouth

This is my entry for a drawing exhibition on the theme of SPEED in Artspace at Plymouth University in January 2012. I found the brief quite hard but then remembered this photograph and it seemed to sum up my attitude towards the digital age and the difficulties of keeping up with technology – ‘running with the light’ so to speak!!
This is the brief
We live in a fast-paced world Everything seems to move more rapidly all the time. Things happen more quickly, we move about more quickly and life changes more quickly than it did in previous generations. Many, if not all, aspects of the society we live in – transportation, technology, media, scientific discovery, even the rate at which cultural trends recycle themselves – are affected by this apparent speeding up of life. How do artists respond to this? By meeting it head on, jumping into the stream? Or by slowing down, standing to one side to observe and reflect from a distance as the pace of life increases. Is it as simple as that, as adopting one position or the other?
Technically it’s not a drawing of course but I feel that the camera is an extension of the hand and can be used much like a pencil – what do you think? How would you respond? Perhaps you could post something on your blog? I’d love to hear your comments. My intention is to enlarge it as near to the maximum size specified for the exhibition 50cms x 70cms – I will have to take some advice on this as I’m never sure of image enlargements – so much technical information to learn these days!! Happy New Year to everyone! Wishing you many creative adventures in 2012

Fifty years ago I painted this (an oil painting on hardboard) …… I am not a painter, it was something I did at school – now I work with found objects and in a sense this is a found object much like the slide transparencies that I have been working with! When my father died a few years ago the painting came back to me and has remained wrapped up in storage. It’s a strange feeling unlocking things from the past………

I am wondering where that girl who painted this has gone? I don’t remember painting it at all! It must have been from an illustration in a magazine or book! Why the man in a boat? It’s a mystery! So it’s about things lost and forgotten rather than memory – a kind of mourning for lost youth maybe!
Is this my next project? – I have taken the first step and attempted to clean it up – the background has yellowed considerably during the years it hung in my parent’s house (they were both smokers) – the photograph hides the yellowing which is interesting. I’m not sure where I’m going with it yet.
I have propped it up in the studio and will live with it there for a while and see what happens!