20 Dec 2022

VIDEO: Exhibition at Thud gallery, Amsterdam

I think that we are all familiar with the concept of channelling – where we let go and seem to find a zone. Where effort is gone and we appear to have talents. My experience is that I can’t exactly make this happen I have to let it happen. A bit like forcing myself to concentrate wont work but allowing myself will. A kind of letting go. I discovered making very quick sketches, where I have no time to think, I appear to make my best work. I figure its letting go of making something pretty , letting of ego, letting go of contriving to make something work is when it begins to happen.  Maybe something in between the cracks.

Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.

It seems to me its important to make mistakes in any field. We need to fuck up and learn from our mistakes. If we just keep doing what we’re good at and stick to that, we’ll never be our best self. We’ll never discover something new. The discovery how not to do something has a great value. All too many of us stick with what we know best because its safe. Lets take risks. Lets be adventurous and daring. Learning how to get it wrong is the right thing to do.

Art is the big journey

I reckon when I was a little kid I must have been making a drawing and someone looked over my shoulder and said “hey! That’s good” So I kept doing the same thing – a house with a pointy roof, two windows and a door. Maybe a chimney on top with some smoke. And more people said that it was nice. And that felt good, it’s what I wanted to hear. There could have been a stick figure or some flowers and the sun, maybe some birds. You know the kind of thing. I stuck with that for quite a while.

L

At my school French was favoured over Art for the supposed ‘smart’ kids. I sat in the French class in silent protest years doing other home-work. My French is poor and mostly learnt on my travels. I have no formal training. Autodidactic – with nothing from the age of 12-20  

Art is also survival

Art is also survival, built into our DNA. It must be good for us. We experience pleasure from food. If we didn’t we’d forget to eat and die. If we didn’t enjoy sex we’d forget to procreate. Pleasure and pain are key to survival. Laughing and humour enhances intelligence and social bonding. Music which can give great please must have a value and art in all its form as well. Dance which combines music and art is a form that seem to move me most of all.