Making Time, for your artlife

This is the poster from the recent show in Vancouver where 5 of my images are curated alongside 90 other artists work from across the globe. The pieces where broadcasted digitally on large screens across the campus. The piece celebrated work created in the last 5 years and was shown from the 9th till the 14th July at the UBC Audian Art Centre Vancouver BC Canada. The sample I chose from my recent making reflects some of the key themes I've been considering; the brain, depression, scientific and artistic knowledge, anxiety, dyslexia, ways of seeing and visual art practice as research. As an exercise I found this opportunity interesting and I welcomed the chance to look back over the recent pasts making. The work and thinking has come some way. It has been a challenge to juggle teaching, research and making. To find space, to maintain momentum, and sometimes just to get out of bed has been difficult. However, I have been lucky to be able to show in some wonderful places and many people have been generous in supporting me during this time.

As well as the digital images being shown I was pleased to see the post card art piece I made for the conference was also exhibited. I responded to the request to send a piece of mail art to the organisers way back in May and had forgotten about it.

In an era of connectivity and the rapid spread of social applications on our mobile phones, as we continue to become more and more surrounded by virtual moments, comments, likes, and friendships, there is something extraordinary about opening our physical mailbox and receiving a tangible postcard, a personal note, or a hand-selected photograph; a piece of someone somewhere far away, in another part of the world. The theme of the exhibition is making - place. We were asked by the organisers to send us a postcard (all mediums were welcome) that addresses themes such as emplacement, being out of place, and being of the place. My response was to post my worn soul. I was intrigued how it had survived the long journey from Brighton to Canada. It was covered in administrative and boundary control type authoritative stickers, reflecting the border crossings. Attempts had been made by the stickers and stamps to hide the words I wrote, you could just make out the 'Please handle with care' aspect but the 'worn soul' had been hidden completely. So at the show I carefully peeled back the post offices sticker to reveal the 'worn soul'. Seemed suitably symbolic.