Poems

Poem 1

When you were disguised as God

Behind my eyelids closed

I would shape futures on your words and ways.

Now you descended to mortal man

It's myself behind closed eyes I see again

In day dreams where I play God.

Poem 2

Smack ed's at my door

Smack ed wants to score

Twenny bag he's gone

To get cash won't be long.

Smack ed's at my door

Mate e can't score

If e could

I'd give you loads so that you would overdoze.

Shoes

Hello i'm a shoe continually pressed against the floor,

Dog shit, piss, spit, dirt and grime

At home i'm chucked to the side

Or any dark cupboard i'm put inside stinking all night

Praying it won't rain tomorrow.

Street Poet

Not so much a fuckin' poet now

That my friend reveals your past

You never rhymed your words before did you

Boo radleys to street poet

Poem 3

Five snakes bit me today

One bite of aggression, poisoned to perfection

One bite of affection although upon reflection

Used for my skin they were shedding theirs.

Also a bite of redemption and i mention that i deserved the sentence

Another bite of reasons for reasons sake

And the fifth snake was jealous of the life we make.

Poem 4

Tell me what your name is

Now tell me what you do

And what did you before this?

If same i will judge you.

And when i'm asked these questions

I hope that i can give

An answer worth judging

That no one else can live.

Train

Am i going home to where i belong

Or has home become a memory i am visiting

A stop on the line at nostalgic junction

Of wgere i grew and where i knew

But not so anymore.

Home long ago left, and waits patiently for arrival

While my heart remains a train, crawling all the way

Until one day it settles at the station.

Poem 5

I hate public transport because

It sometimes smells

And it's always uncomfortable

And it's rarely early

And the ticket mans lairy

And there's nearly nearly always

A surly horrible drunk.

I hate public transport because

Kids kicking my seat

There's no room for my feet

And the fat man's taking up room,

Got too many bags, not enough hands

And my ticket cost me over forty quid.

Writings

Over the next week or so I'm going to be posting poems, stories and general bits of writing i gathered over the summer. At the moment they're all inside an illegible sketchbook.

block

i'm feeling quite creative
but i can't think of anything to write
and despite some ideas that might
or might not see the light
all i can think about is writing a list of stuff i need to do tommorrow...

LINKS to Films for REVIEW

who cares;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMY3pIxLfuw

selfish memory;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvyzpjDWMps

a clown, a man, a rant;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQTFiqzAq00

liverpool to leeds;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxCE49NjFaQ

Liverpool to Leeds

This is the bike i rode 75 miles from Liverpool to Leeds. The video is now up on this link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxCE49NjFaQ

Collaboration

Nick De Jasy sat down in soul cafe the other day and mentioned he was looking for someone to dress in a gorilla suit, enter a room alone with someone they had never met (also in a gorilla suit), and interact with the objects in there without communicating in anyway other than monkey languages. I said I would do it.

Sunday morning I wake up with a call from Nick with only about an hour to get to his. I was fucked and although it wasn't an early wake up, I'm not usually in a and e til 9am with Duncan who, the previous night had gone samurai on a banana and cut his finger open resulting in 6 stitches from Joyce.

Anyway at Nicks he gave me a quick brief, basically don't touch the cameras and don't speak in any language. 

It was the weirdest thing. I entered the room in gorilla suit and mask to find an identically dressed being. We were shut in for 15 minutes or so and proceeded to smash plates, throw bananas, throw paint, set fire to things, smash plates with a golf club, smash glasses with a dogs toy, slide on the floor, fail to drink coke, bang on the windows at people in a cafe, smash more plates and generally sweat a lot inside the suits. Once the 15 was up Nick came in and we were de masked and introduced to each other. Dave turned out to live 10 doors down from me which was weird.

We both concluded that the experience was very weird and that we had been quite reserved with our smashing. We were dissapointed to have missed the oppurtunity to smash a tv with a golf club but we had both thought it was part of the set up and didn't want to risk it.

It was an interesting project to get involved with and because of Nick's organisation there were no problems on my behalf as a participant. it was a good collaboration to be involved with and I walked away with my creative mind buzzing. 

gay down syndrome porn addicts

I was enjoying a coffee with my friend Tom outside Soul Cafe on Bold St today discussing the problem of first time suit buying. An old man came out into the seating area and I over heard him say to a group of girls "Oh there's no seats, but when your in your mid seventies you learn not to give a shit" He then sat down opposite in a chair that became availible and after getting Tom to set the time on his mobile phone, taking the piss out of the leftovers of nail varnish on his hands and briefly talikng about his own supply of nail varnish remover and shampoo indebted to him by his grand daughters, the conversation swiftly ( and I'm still not sure how) turned to gay down syndrome porn addicts. Initially I inteneded on drinking my coffee as quickly as possible and making a dsah for it but i'm glad we didn't because he did have point, which he explained. It turned out that he was a lecturer at Liverpool uni and also ran a drama class of which one of his male pupils has down syndrome and is gay. Understandably (explained the old gentleman) it's difficult for this lad to meet and form relationships because (as i imagined) there aren't too many gay people with down syndrome. So this must have been a problem ... but according to the old bloke it has been solved... by the internet. The lad has been introduced to pornography on the internet which has helped him with sexual frustrations. This is obviously a good thing for him however apparently he has become an addict and has no moderation in the amount he uses xrated sites and more importantly where he uses them. Apparently when staying at his cousins he was using the computer in the living room, with others in the room, he began masturbating in front of them all. Despite a few incidents like these though I think it's a case of how much good the internet and technology can do.

The old man also talked about how he visited east germany before the wall came down and how he met underground artists who were illegally making art. Anyway this encounter has made soul cafe (bold st, liverpool) one of my favorite places to go.

Collaboration updates

I have spoken about my proposal to make a documentary film over the summer about the High Wycombe hardcore (HWHC) scene and the White Horse pub. Fundamentally this will be a documentary about subcultue, and importantly one that I experienced first hand. The potential of this documentary is great. It will be a collective of many interesting stories and experiences and it will be nostalgic for all participants. It will be a tangible record of a scene that could otherwise be forgotten in years to come and it could be a catalyst for a few band reunions and most definitely some old school antics (road rage in Downley perhaps...). There is already a large and keen interest in this project and it will take a lot of collaboration between a lot of willing people and some tight organisation on my behalf. The possible enormity of this project has already seen me request help from a few friends before even lifting a camera! This will no doubt be the biggest project I have undertaken and I expect it to be difficult and challenging but also extremely rewarding!

I have work experience lined up at the Bluecoat gallery Liverpool starting with a familiarisation session in the coming week.

by law...

I found this in another folder... must be a year old at least

By law you have the right to gather as a group in public for peaceful demonstration or general assembly.
By law you must inform authorities first.
By law you can be arrested and prosecuted for not doing so
By principle you have the right to do as you wish. Fuck the law.

something I wrote last year that I just found....

This is a word doc I found in my documents titled compassion;

As innocent children and women were being killed and men were fighting over oil and angry men were plotting to tear apart peace. As women were being trafficked from brothel to brothel and other women were raped or assaulted and as thin junkies were lying on the floors of smack dens spreading their poetry. As bullets flew across ganglands and as animals were brutally killed for their skins I sat at my PC in the warm dry library unable to bring myself to do anything about it. Love thy neighbour.

volunteer work

Thanks for your recent application to volunteer at the Bluecoat!

 

On Thursday April 29th at 2pm I am hosting an orientation session for volunteers who wish to work in the galleries. The session won’t last more than 30 minutes and it is very informal – a chance for you to ask questions and for me to find out more about you. Please let me know if you can attend.

 

Best wishes,

good news from the bluecoat

Music...

I haven't talked about music much at all here which is wrong because I love it. To start off with I've become addicted to mixing records and although I'm pretty shit it's something I can see myself doing pretty seriously especially for the remainder of my time at uni. Chibukus 10th anniversary (in Liverpool) was phenominal. Caspa was the high light of my night his set was spot on and I think he was filling a slot for someone else as well so we got a double dosage of him and to top it off he played one of my favorite dub tunes; Skream, simple city. Skreams set was also great if not a bit funkier than I expected.

I've been discussing the similarities between dub step and hard/heavy music with mates recently. They are so similar. Obviously they are both underground and they both have extremes such as dubsteps Mala contrasting with (what some people will deny being dub) Borgore and All Shall Perish contrasting with Down on the other hand. I can't quite put a finger on why dub is so popular with people who listen to or grew up listening to hardcore/metal, i think it's the rawness of them both, the anticipation of the drop much like waiting for a breakdown at a Throwdown gig. Check these comments from youtube left on dub tracks. There the kind of things a metal nut would say about a tune, I've never seen this in electronic music before...


"guts and vomit splatter till the blood rivers all swallowed up inside .... YUMM YUMM "


"I just shat my intestines out. This mix sends my Dirt-o-Meter all the way back down the sewer. FUCKING YES!! "

and as for the description of the mix they're commenting on...

"This mix is illegal, therefore parental guidance is advised as it contains intense violence, blood and gore and SEVERE amounts of disgusting unaltered dirt. I take no responsibility at all for any side-effects, nausea, intense vomiting etc. "

the mix in question can be listened to here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yNtw1hGmcQ

it is BRUTAL and worthwhile suffering internal bleeding for the 10 minutes of rib cracking terror unleashed upon thee.

21

Yes! I made it to the ripe old age of 21! Which means I need to adopt an air of responsibilty and I'm approaching this by buying and mo'fo'ing suit. However, talking about reponsibilty I missed my own birthday party because I ran away and then passed out at home by 10pm and by the end of the weekend celebrations my bed was snapped in half and the house was trashed...
But...by investing in a suit I will automatically and subconciously mentally mature by a few years which is certainly what I need to do if I am to get the job I want after university.

Quote

"Maybe it's El Nino or maybe it's because an entire pack of huskies simultaneously farted while passing directly over the North Pole"

Pete Fleming, Wavelength surf mag

Drafts

My mate swears by it so I started saving reminders or ideas in my drafts on my phone but I never ever look at them which makes it a pointless exercise, although, looking back at drunken messages I failed to send is always a good source of entertainment (and a cringe). Anyway I was on the train today and like always when I'm bored on a train I searched every single file on my phone for something entertainment, which I of course never find...

Here the messages I saved in drafts on purpose or by accident when drunk between Feb and now;

1)Bbc/radio 1 anny mac. Subtract mini mix
2)C9472
3)Tomoro then i mite b back quite late tho
4)Dvd ad
5)Out tonite?x
6)Were comin in a bit just finishin drinks here xx
7)Hey wel b down in a bit just hat x
8)Have a good nite?x
9)Me and dunc want u to come over
10)yall c on my bed if u want
11)G
12)Hey hope
13)Im not getting mine tij
14)Im here
15)Travel doc 1st wk of easter.
16)Take martins bike to leeds
17)A planned act-spontaneous to thd eyes of others
18)Fake notes game show
19)Collin oakden
20)Where ru? N
21)Kane cunningham
22)I duno x
23)Mr skruff
24)Cme up the sta

quote

"It's tempting, after seeing this film, to declare that gays are the new heterosexuals."

The Sunday Times March 21st

Way of practicing art

People should get out of the habit of seeing their art course in year long project terms? I wonder how many pro artists actually pursue the same idea for weeks on end, review it then forget about it and start something totally different the next week. Not sayting that all art students work this way but I certainly did until recently. Its more beneficial to my practice to switch from one idea to another or even drop ideas when i get bored of them instead of pursuing an end result or culmalative result from a poxy idea i stuck to because i wrote about it in a proposal 4 months ago. Anyway you might guess i'm writing this because i've been getting bored of my practice recently which is one reason why i did the Lpool Leeds thing. Anyway i've got plently of ideas to pursue and if none of these come to a conclusion who cares? bob

Liverpool to Leeds

I did it! Got loads of footage from it which is soon going to be a video. It took 9 hours. I ended up borrowing an old racer/shopper type bike called a Puch Elegance with 3 gears. Unfortunately the handlebar stem SNAPPED but that happened when I got off the train returning to Liverpool. Anyway there will be a couple of pictures soon and obviously a video so keep your peepers peeled. Bob

bmx excursion

It's all going ahead! I either leave tomorrow with a hangover and no sleep or Monday with neither, i'm favoring tomorrow because the footage will be more interesting if i'm intoxicated.
I started filming yesterday and have half an hour of footage already, so considering i haven't done any pedalling yet there is going to be A LOT of footage... and endless editing.

The only problem i have so far is a jammed seat post. If i can't sort this out i'm going to be cycling 70 miles with my knees round my ears because it's at it's lowest at the moment. I've planned a route using the AA route planner which will take me via St Helens, Wigan, Bolton, Rochdale, Halifax, Bradford and Leeds.

I'm off to Tesco now to get some supplies... wish me luck.

latest film, commencing either sunday or monday depending on hangover status

Film idea; What would appear to be a spontaneous act but on the contrary a well planned experiment.


Following an inspirational lecture from Robin Deacon I had an idea for an ambitious piece of documentary/catalyst/performance/happening film.

I haven’t told anyone about the idea yet (while I’m writing), although by the time you read this I will have.

I plan to go buy some inner tubes for a bmx, because I know my friend Martin has a bmx with a flat tyre. I will fix his bike and in return for this he will hopefully let me borrow it, although I’m not going to tell him where I’m taking it. I will just make it clear that I need to use it for a project. All this I will be filming. I will then attach the camera to the handlebars. It will need to be able to turn 360 degrees so I can document my journey from a road view and then talk to the camera when I have something to say.

Where am I going to cycle to?

I am going to cycle to Leeds. I have a road map somewhere so it should be fine. One of my closest friends lives in Leeds and I had an urge today to see him, so I am going to surprise him. This will make interesting footage in itself and of course it will be an experience. The other purpose of it is research. I plan to make a film about Britain so I need to see a bit of it and also get away by myself and think about how I will go about it, so, when I’m cycling across the Peak district or whatever I can clear my head and have a good think. I don’t know when I’m setting off hopefully it will be next week. Today is the 9th March.

List of stuff to do

1.find a way of attaching camera to handlebars
2.plan route
3.get camera
4.start filming with fixing bike and asking martin if I can take it
5.prep bike and any kit/food
6.say goodbye to house mates who will learn of my expedition as I’m leaving (and who will probably expect me back within the hour)
7.cycle to Leeds
8.meet adam, surprise him
9.cycle back
10.edit footage
11.analyse

Chocolate

There are a few wispy memories i have as a child before an event blotted most of my earlier memories out. One of these i will do my best to translate into words here.

When i was very young there was a cupboard in the kitchen which i had no business going in. When it was bedtime i noticed my mum or dad (this is when they were still together) would regularly take a flatish rectangular box out of it and lay it on the table, way above my line of sight so i didn't know what the contents was. I was intrigued by this for a long time and took to opening the cupboard when no one was looking and staring at this mysterious box. It had a green velvet covered case with strips of brown leather running down the sides and i would peak at it through the door then hurry away when i heard someone coming. One day i opened the box just enough to see inside two rows of shiny discs, one white one brown. My mouth watered at the sight of what i thought were chocolates and this was met by anger at my parents sneakily eating sweets after i'd gone to bed. Whats more my older sister was sometimes sat at the table when they got the box out while i was being sent to bed. I felt terribly left out. For a long time i snuck into the cupboard and opened the box just enough to glimpse the chocolates, milk and white, and think about taking one, but they were meticulously laid out and it wouldn't go unnoticed if one was taken, so i never risked it. Every time i opened the box and looked in i could smell chocolate and taste the sweetness in the air. I waited for months to see if i'd ever be offered one before i went to bed but it never happened, and then my parents split and the box dissapeared, with my dad i thought. I didn't see the box of chocolates for a long time.

When i was quite a bit older i was visiting my dad at his place and he asked if i'd like to learn how to play backgammon. I said yes so he came back with a box and laid it on the table. It was the green velvet box with leather strips and brown and white discs inside. To this day, everytime i play backgammon, i can smell and taste chocolate.

Morocco, Robin Deacon, Film ideas

I returned from a week of surfing in Morocco on Sunday. Morocco is an amazing place, totally different culture, so much so that it seems unreal I was there last week, more like I dreamt i was there. The laid back atmosphere is infectious, we did nothing but surf, eat and sleep. Tagahzout where we stayed is alcohol free, so I had a rare week of not drinking and feel better for it, although as soon as I got back to Liverpool it was straight to the pub. Go to Morocco, it's incredible.

Today was beautiful. Liverpool is amazing when the sun shines on it. This evening a few of us risked going to an artist lecture at the Bluecoat. I say risk because more often than not artist lectures are boring. Robin Deacon's lecture was not at all in fact it was one of the more inspiring lectures i've been to. It wasn't necessarily Deacon's work and performances that reached out to me, it was his way of working and way of communicating. He adressed some of the lecture in a performance like way which was intriguing and got me to thinking about my own practice a lot. There are many things that i wish to do outside of fine art but after this lecture i realised how easy it would be to combine these things with art e.g travel, physical activity. One thing i feel is important for me to address, at some stage, from a creative perspective is my decision to join the Royal Marines post uni which i think can be done through film. In the mean time i have an idea to work on but unfortunately i cannot express this concept yet because in doing so it will ruin the integrity of exercise/work. All i can say is that i thank Robin Deacon and his words for being the catalyst for my sudden burst of inspiration.

blion project

the blion video from last year is now uploaded on youtube, have a look...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCz2geiSbJo

start of a new film idea

The following piece of text will be recited by a dummy which I started making for a completely different film idea than the one i will be filming. I have forgotten the original idea, but the concept in this new idea is about how actions, however small, can effect the next stage of your existence. I was recording things i had done, was doing and was going to do on paper after, simultaneously and before i had done them which eventually confused me a lot and gave me a feeling i was travelling through time. I was also predicting what i would be doing next but then changing what i had plotted by making very small and seemingly insignificant decisions. In this short story i created i always intended it to be read by the dummy but as it progressed it became the dummy who was writing the story. I have still to decipher the complete meaning behind this exercise (and thats exactly what it is) because i haven't completed it yet. The next stage will be to set up camera and have the dummy tell the story and see if there is any relevance in what it says. Here is what i began to write down and the dummy finished:

Roughly an hour of my life

 

I had an idea.

 

This happened after I had been to a meeting.

 

I came back from the meeting and made a cup of tea for my house mate and myself. I came upstairs with the intention of making a dummy for film purposes which I started but then I had an idea to write down what I was doing, so I put a cd on which was The Clash and sat down to write about what I’d already done. But my pen didn’t work so I scribbled for a bit, then swore then ran down stairs to get another and shouted to my housemate “I’ve got an idea!”

 

Then I went to the shop to get some quavers. Although the thing is I haven’t yet, it’s just I’m writing it now as I know it’s going to happen when I’ve finished writing this. Actually I’m going to re write this last bit. I finished my cup of tea, which I haven’t yet, then I went to buy a pack of quavers from the shop in the sleet.

 

I finished my tea, which had lumps of congealed milk in it then I went to the shop to get some quavers, which I haven’t done yet). Although saying that I did actually get some quavers from the shop I am going to after the meeting when I was getting milk for the cup of tea I have just drunk. But the thing is I didn’t go to the shop to get quavers, I went to the shop to get milk and salt and vinegars.

 

And now I am going to the shop.

 

When I went to the shop I saw two men obviously dealing drugs and they both looked at me and I got the impression that they didn’t care that I was going to the shop. I also realised that they had no idea about the significance of them being there and becoming part of my story. When I got to the shop I had ruined the plot of the story because I didn’t buy quavers I bought a mars bar, a pack of salt and vinegar and some flaming hot monster munch which I have just finished eating. When I asked for a mars bar, (which you have to because they are behind a Perspex shield) the young man serving tried to hide a cigarette which he was smoking illegally behind the counter. But I think he then decided that I didn’t care about him smoking behind the counter so he took another drag and asked me for one pound fifty which I gave him. As I turned to go I said “I like your style” in respect of him not obliging to the smoking law, but I immediately realised as he gave me a discerning look that he didn’t care that I liked his style because it probably wasn’t anything to do with style to him, in fact I think he was smoking indoors illegally because it was sleeting outside.

 

When I got back from the shop I finished making myself. Then I put myself in a cupboard. Then I thought about what you would think about everything I’ve just said.

Individual tutorial/review

I think it's decided that I am ready to stop experimenting across different mediums and develope my ideas and concepts in one, which will be film.

I would eventually like to make a short feature film with scripted characters and multiple camera angles. obviously this will take a lot of time and is a very ambitious plan so as to keep my general practice of film up while i am developing this idea i will be making short films of different content and concepts.

one idea is to deliberatly create events/happenings in real life and film them in a documentry style way, for example i might take some people into a public space which has laws/rules/regs that i disagree with and test them out by breaking them, repeatedly, then compiling the footage to make a film. this will mean collecting volunteers who are willing to be tossers on purpose in public....

another issue bought up in the review was my reluctance to revisit an idea or even remake a whole film, the film in question being my most recent. doing this is a reality in the film world and is something i need to get used to however tiresome it might be going over things. research is also something which should be integral to my practice and over the last week i have been looking at film makers such as Guy Maddin and Peter Greenaway which has had a positive effect if not a strange effect on my dreams...

so the next step is to continue research, develope a fast idea for a documentary style film and start the long process of a feature film which probably will not take shape until early summer.

peace

this is a question i sent out to random people in uni, just a few answers here

Hi I am a fine art student doing a project about peoples emotion while existing in a public place be it city or countryside. If you could choose one word to describe how you feel in a public space what would it be? e.g free, watched, constrained

if you could reply to this email i would greatly appreciate it, thanks

In a city entrapped.

In the country – free.

Regards,

Alistair

Robert
You need to define the public space – if I am out in the open with no-one around then I would use the word content

Nervous

Free

Comfortable

Reserved

watched!

Free

Well, I feel alive and at peace visiting the countryside, but in the city it's usually busy and no one notices you that much so I tend to just get by easily but definitely not as safe as the country.
Good luck on your project.

review feb 15

I had positive feedback at the review with Rick and Miguel and have a clear sense of direction about where i will be taking my practice over the next few weeks. i was made aware of a film maker David Greenaway who i am researching. it was agreed the quality of sound and dialogue in my video needs to be improved but as this was my first video in a while it came as no surprise. i will be prosposing a new script very soon which will be a development of the ideas i am currently exploring. peace

martin has something to say...

new video confronting the hypocrisy of everyday life. check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQTFiqzAq00

Collaboration

I have finished shooting footage for a film about freedom in public spaces. I used two people to help make the film. One (who had no previous acting experience) to act the two characters and another who had make-up experince to apply the make-up to one of the characters. It was difficult from a directorial point of view to get my ideas across to Martin who played a clown and a drunkerd. We sat down a dicussed the script i had given him for some time making changes to better suit him. He did extrodinarily well remembering lines and improvising in some places. He improvised more toward the end of filming as he got more and more into character. I'm lucky to have found someone who could see the story from my point of view and understand the concepts behind it all. Liz had previous experience in face painting so she volunteered as make-up artist and did a great job. Something she did which i would have not picked up on was to use red make up for the eye of the clown which, when filmed in black and white, gave a good contrast and looked perfect for what i wanted. I gained invaluable experience filming this and look forward to the editing side.

I am in the process of getting volunteer work at the Bluecoat gallery and am expecting an offer in the next few days.

I will start filming with local skateboarders next week for a film about the use of public space. It will be another exciting collaboration this time with people I am unaquainted with.

Check back soon for a link to my new film, peace

Collaboration

Looking to get volunteering work at the blue coat in the near future to get some contacts and open up doors for possible employment over the summer.

I will also be collaborating with local skateboarders to make a short documentry film about skating in the public domain in liverpool which will go hand in hand with my current project.

last week

start of new painting about questioning public space, this is just the drawing up stage using an ohp

this is edge hill bowl which doesn't look like it's been used for years. next time we're going armed with brooms and spades to get rid of the mud and glass,

. A photograher from the guardian turned up and and took some shots of us which was pretty cool.

last few days

It's been a hectic last few days, the highlight being going to my first FA cup game; stoke vs arsenal. it was mad, football fans are like no other people! i especially loved the abuse thrown at the oppositions fans (that being arsenal as i was with my mates from stoke) and i'm not ashamed to say did my bit of shouting fuck off you southern c***s... in a southern accent, which got a few quizzical looks. anyway it was amazing and i think i might be a born again football fan.

on arriving in stoke the day before the meatch there was a large police presence and it wasn't until we got to mcdonalds we realised the English Defence League (who probably don't deserve capital letters) were staging a protest with banners such as "stop the islamification of britain", which is something i must be naive enough not to notice happening.there are a worrying amount of disillusioned "nationalists" who think all muslims are extremists. it's kind of the same as a foreigner thinking all english people are anti islam, a case of a few bad apples. anyway it was a surprise to see as i've never seen any protesting on that scale and i wish it had something to do with something i believed in because i was well up for a rowdy one. it made for good entertainment while we ate our burgers though, although i'd like to highlight that the stoke mcdonalds by the bus station does not do the free cheeseburger with a student card and thats the only reason i ever go in mcdonalds now...

the painting is just an experimental one done today using paints, razor blades and cotton buds. peace

recent painting

paintings this week

boundaries

Since the christmas break i have been struggling to grasp a direction to take my work. I knew i wanted to experiment with film and maybe installation as well as painting and drawing but i wasn't happy with the lack of a concept. After todays tutorial with Paul from Static gallery i had a burst of inspiration (thanks Paul), he said something like "art is just an extension of what you are thinking at the time". This made me realise that i didn't havr to have a groundbreaking concept i just need to keep practicing in a productive way to generate new ideas. 

This is the start of new idea, it's about addressing and questioning boundaries in our cultivated society.

The first set of images are telling you what to do.

The second set of images are from a skateboarding/beer sesh inside a Tesco in liverpool city centre where you have to sneak past security to get in and use the space. It is a public car park and there is no problem with people using the space to walk to and from their cars and drive their cars about, but, as soon as someone starts using it in a recreational way e.g skateboarding it becomes a problem. Skateboarding is one activity that thinks and works outside the box of rules and regs the city inforces upon people.

re direction

This is where i'm going to blog just about everything from now on, i've created another blog dedicated to street art which will house anything i see around liverpool. heres the link to that
www.graphicup.blogspot.com

Also check this website out its the cream of the crop for all things street culture related run by Grizzle MC and a few of his mates
www.thedailystreet.co.uk has everything from dubstep to graff and fashion... its sick.

I've been back in liverpool a week and it already feels like a month!

Check back soon for some updates and hopefully a video in the near future.

peace