July Madness
July has been officially dubbed ‘psycho’ month
3 different shows + a commission piece to all be completed to specific stages = a total of around 30 works by the end of the month. Just a little bit daunting. But I have to say with a planned timeline for each, it is doable and will be very close to completion in that time frame! Just don’t expect me to be out much!
Show #1 - Gravis: a solo show opening 15th of August.
#2 – Boundless Plains: Creative Conversations with Asylum Seekers: a group show opening 9th of August.
#3 – 31 Days: a drawing a day for each day in July, displayed as a group show in late August.
Commission: bronze memorial installation for a grave site in Amsterdam, wax up to be at the foundry by the end of the month.
A central theme running through all this work is a visual expression of the emotions and feelings around the grief and loss process. Since the residency at Big Ci earlier this year where I was able to focus on the imminent loss of my mother, and to put that into images, the floodgates have opened in creative language of being able to look towards the multifactorial roller-coaster of emotions that surround grief. Many whom have seen parts of this body of work already have remarked at how comforting and relatable various pieces have been to them. I find this both exhilarating and humbling, that I can speak the language of comfort and support to those who are struggling.
As I have said, my mum is the catalyst of this explosion of work, and I would like to share a photo and story of her childhood in Newnes, a previous shale oil mining community north of Lithgow. She regularly tells the tale of how when she was very little she used to accompany the local police constable hand in hand up and down the main street, ‘assisting’ with his duties. Reproduced here is a historical photo from around that era (1920s) which could well be her outside the police station. For me, that image speaks volumes, especially when I was able to stand on that spot, walk those very ‘streets’, and visit the spot where she was born getting close to a century ago.
Let those creative waters flood out!