"To make people free is the aim of art,
therefore art for me is the science of freedom." - Joseph Beuys

 

'Escape Artist': escapism as an art form, or Hudini as an artist? Those quasi magickal performers combining obsessions with esoteric materials, the occult: the notion of the conjurer as artist, entertainer, explorer. It's Pop, it's disposable, but it's referencing the occult, eastern philosophy, Yogic practices. It's Pop, and yet it has this more mysterious undertone.

 

"The essence of reality is not fact but question.
Fate is life lived. Accident is life let pass." - Whitley Strieber - The Key

 

I was very much concerned with aesthetics during my degree [BA hons, Creative Arts]. Although I never aspired to becoming a fine artist – the term seemed antiquated, too restrictive: I was an angry young man, an inverted snob. I was drawn to the likes of the Dadaists, the Situationists and Surrealism: these people literally lived for art, and lived their art. They were angry, disturbed, their lives were an adventure, and they had a sense of style.

I chose my degree because I think at the time it was one of two ‘creative arts’ courses in the country [UK] that allowed you to examine and combine different systems, different mediums. And while I struggled to find the motivations behind my work [‘because it looks good’, ‘because it sounds nice’] I was always drawn to people like Joseph Beuys, Genesis P’Orridge – artists who's work was wholly intertwined with their daily lives, with a whole lot going on beneath the surface. These people simply are art.

The Situationists, Punk, Dada, The Modern Primitive Movement, were attempting to bring down the borders between high and low art, art and life.

 

Digital and Polaroid Photography

Polaroids appeal to me because of their spontaneous qualities, obviously, but I also enjoy the unpredictability of the results. They are a little pretentious, but I am not a photographer; the instant, pop-ness of Polaroid and digital video image grabbing feel more appropriate to my work.

The passport photographs: they always embarrass people but I think they are all fantastic. Every face has this unspoken sentiment – you don’t need words, or even to contrive an expression to communicate. Emotional content cannot be faked.

The majority of them are not of my making, they are found objects. Joseph Beuys would use found objects, presenting them as he found them; there is an authenticity to this process - presenting materials that we would otherwise ignore, out of context, and placing new emphasis on them

I think it’s vital to create a balance between content and form: instinct: emotional content, emotional triggers, aesthetic appeal. Intellect: concept, message, motivations, influences, technical developments.

Contrasting elements: I’ve always been drawn to contrasting elements. Fundamentally, the friction created by opposing elements is a source of energy. Light and shade, hard and soft, minimal and complex.

I've been working with this notion of a kind of 'post rational photo journalism' since 1993, when I started getting into Polaroid photography, assembling the Drift idea was inspired by The Situationist's idea of exploring your environment in a way that uncovers hidden elements, the effect our surroundings have on us emotionally and intellectually.[Drift is an ongoing collection of hundreds of Polaroids taken in and around the UK and Europe: some I would post back to myself via friends and family - the journey and the packaging of the images adding to the qualities of the project.]

 

"Genesis P-Orridge moves into the 21st century focussed on a new area of research, to be explored in partnership with Miss Jackie Superstar that is called "BREAKING SEX". Dematerialisation of identity, and invisibility through image overload expressed through the denial of DNA programming and inherited gender mapping are the most central concerns at present. Integral to this, and typically ambiguous, is the further notion of "PRIVACY AS THE LAST TABOO". When all is virtual we dis-appear by simply logging off. Infinite deconstructions of personality and character may thus be liberated to unfold." - next - new - way - on

 

The web appeals to my interest in combining text and visuals in a creative form, and while I realize its potential as a marketing tool, I am more interested in the ways in which it connects people from across the globe, offering free exchange of ideas, information and food for thought.

 

"Joseph Beuys viewed performance art as a medium with the potential for self healing and social transformation. He believed that by enacting self-invented rituals, he could assume the role of a modern-day shaman and affect the world around him. His performances, or "actions," utilized elements of the absurd and contained layers of meanings and symbols. But even within a seemingly chaotic environment, Beuys attempted to create an atmosphere for his viewer that would unite the intuitive, passionate soul with the intellectual mind, and thus prepare the individual for a spiritual evolution." - Emily Rekow, Walker Art Center Department of Education and Community Programs