On the evening of January 16th 2009 I had the pleasure of showing a body of work created specifically for the Art Bar at the Gladstone hotel. I first saw the space with art work in October 08 and thought that it would be perfect to show my work. After a great meeting with the exhibition programmer Chris Mitchell I set to work developing the show.
It took almost two months to build the supports and collage for the show but on January 3rd 09 I put my first layer of paint on the works. I had originally imagined myself working for up to a month on the work but fell short on that projection. Luckily, I had enough painted to hang the work and am happy with the result. The feedback so far has been positive.
Many of the friends and family who came to the show asked what the title of the show meant. I probably gave each person that asked a different answer. This is pretty symptomatic of my process when coming up with explanations. I reason and work things out when I discuss them verbally. So, that being said, here are some of the explanations of for the title and why I feel that it is descriptive of the body of work.
I found that while I was making the work (sometimes working well past midnight while I was working full time as an installer) that I was running out of steam. I questioned the validity of the work, the reason for making it and the ends. Sometimes it feels contradictory to be engaged in the creation of work that has a social bend, but never engage in any socially enriching activities for months on end while creating my art. Although the work attempts to challenge the status quo in many ways it only caters to the system that I seek to undermine through collage and paint. I may seek humanitarian subject matter and want to illuminate injustice and suffering, I still try and sell the work in order to support myself as an artist and break even with all the costs that go along with it.
There are moments when every step towards the creation of fine art in the name of social consciousness could be a step backwards from social activism. It is a contradiction of terms within a thought process already laden with self doubt.
Even through all of this there is still the need and the knowledge that I must continue with the exercise above all odds. It is not art for arts sake, but art for my sake. In the end it is how I express myself in a universe of varied self expression. And although it classifies as an exercise in futility, the final contradiction is that it is'nt if and whenever I succeed and finish the project. It is oxy-moronic but ultimately, I hope, tongue and cheek. Because thats what it is essentially about in the end. Hope.
