Faces and places from another time.
I am not pretending to be someone else, I am a different person.
But every so often I see a faint thread from where I came.
I am not afraid, but I seem to view it from a distance
and the voices cluster and reverberate
like they are spoken in a large room.
There is something important to be said.
Tidal '08 opened on Friday night (Dec 5) at Devonport Regional Gallery. I am one of 21 finalists in this art prize competition. I am in pretty good company (which includes the ever-lovely Ms Rees) and is a nice collection of works. Strangely there are 3 video works in the show and had I been aware that video was allowed I may well have contributed a video work, being that its what I do. Still, this gave me the opportunity to produce something that is a little unusual for me. So despite my initial surprise at seeing video works, I'm pretty happy that I was afforded the opportunity to go 2D. As it happens I contributed a digital print on canvas, based on video stills, a kind of 'capturing a point in time' piece called "Whitepinkblack Noise (moment)". Oh by the way for those curious, the work relates to the theme of tides, by the fact that my imagery includes that of the moon...okay K.H?
Photo by Sally Rees
It was an interesting opening as I chatted to a number of people from my past, being that I was back up in that general neck of the woods. One does tend to change over time, but you don't always realise it because you live and breath in your own mind and body. Seeing folks and talking to them, allows you to see faint threads of your past, somehow feeling connected to a previous time and place and yet viewing it from a distance like an onlooker. People change for the good, bad and indifferent, I'm not sure where I sit with those three options. As I've been dealing with conclusions of late (finishing the first draft of a thesis outlining three years of research) I have been thinking of personal change and evolution. There is a realisation that people I once knew and were close to, I no longer know, or perhaps never really knew. It's a little sad I suppose, but not entirely unexpected when one is objective about it.
2008 has been an odd kind of year, full of highs and lows and now it's coming to a close I'm trying to draw conclusions and some of them just won't come. "Life's what happens when you're busy making other plans" is a quote from John Lennon, (but embarrassingly I first heard it via Gene Simmons!) and it rings true when compressing three years of life (research and everyday life are not often mutually exclusive) into a paper. This is not an end, it's a moment, so it's difficult to conclude, especially considering that I hope that everything I do, someone will draw there own meaning from. It's not up to me, I put a little piece out there. There is something important to be said, but I'm not going to say it.
Witnessing the local Mike Parr performance/exhibition "The Tilted Stage", reinforced my already held opinion, that we should sometimes look at things that are difficult and sometimes things of great beauty can be seen or profound thoughts or ideas can be felt. I was profoundly moved by seeing Parr's live performance and very glad I did. But I'm fully aware that his work is not for everyone, but I have always been an advocate of free speech. "I may not like or agree with what you say, but I'll defend your right to say it". (Not John Lennon or Gene Simmons!)
The reason I bring this up is because of this ongoing 'clean feed' idea that the Australian Federal Government via Stephen Conroy keeps pushing. I have been an anti-censorship advocate for a long time. And without being preachy have tried to do my own small part in fighting it, going back to getting hold of PMRC literature back in the late 1980s to keep track of what that nasty Tipper Gore was up to in the US or getting an anonymous argumentative phonecall from someone after I wrote an anti-film censorship letter that was published in the local paper prompted by John Howard deciding he wanted to put a blanket ban on ALL 'R' rated films following the Port Arthur Massacre. Admittedly, there are things shown or spoken in the arts, in film, music and the media in general that are difficult to defend, however hiding heads in the sand eliminates informed debate. So let's hope Mr Rudd doesn't follow in Howard's footsteps and like a good little dictator, ignores public condemnation of a deeply flawed plan (don't mention the war[s]!) There are two bodies looking at fighting this by online petitions and other information is available. If you disagree with a mandatory clean feed for the net into Australia, let the Government know by signing up and/or attending a protest.
My experimental, improvised electronic trio TRIAD have just received some funding from Sound Travellers
TRIAD Tour announcement! (Nov 28, 2008) We are now able to happily announce that TRIAD will be undertaking a short tour in April/May 2009, thanks to the support of SOUND TRAVELLERS. The plan thus far is to play in Devonport, Launceston, Hobart, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane. When dates and venues are firmly set, we will post all details.
TRIAD
Sound Travellers
In closing; people are saying we are currently in troubled times. That may well be the case. It would be difficult to point to a time and place when we weren't in troubled times. So what I'm suggesting now is not just escapism, but may be a form of divinity! I'm sure he wasn't the first to suggest it, but Brian Wilson said that when you are laughing all your guards are dropped and at that moment you may have a chance to be closer to God. Well he was going through a rough time, a period of oddness shall we say, but it sounds kinda sane to me. There are not many periods of time in my life when the lord of sublime silliness Kenny Everett is not in my consciousness and in moments of great stress or despair, the messiah brings relief. There are free downloadable podcasts of his ridiculous radio space drama Captain Kremmen available
Go have a chuckle at something and feel better.
Take care of each other.
