Monthly Archives: September 2014

Muriel

If any of you have had a look around the site you will have seen the the little black and white drawings , these are done by my very dear friend Muriel Petit who lives in Lodeve in France. If you look in the ‘It’s all about you’ section there is a photograph of her and also her other family members Guyhlain, Daniel and Rams. Muriel is one of the loveliest and most free spirited souls I have ever had the pleasure to know.  Here is a link to one of her animations

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkHPM2V8Vls

and here is  the most recent drawing I asked her to do for me….  the one trick pony…. coming to a t-shirt near you soon.

One trick pony

 

The Shock of the Old

In an increasingly image saturated world it is becoming  difficult to avoid the bete noir of ‘serious’ photographers.. the cliche,  as a non ‘serious’ photographer I have decided to embrace them. For me  the word cliche (without looking it up in a dictionary)  means something stereotypical, tired and overused and hence to the modern visual artist interested only in the ‘shock of the new’ they are to be dismissed, so much so that these artists themselves have become a cliche in their own right, and maybe the reason why we have ended up with the blindingly dull and impenetrably conceptual . Photography like  art and fashion is cyclic, and what was once tired forgotten and laid to rest can after time be taken from the wardrobe dusted down and  re -vamped.  The wheel of life ?

Brighton717

Carry on Constable

Coppers695

 

Like most photographers I have three or four projects on the go at any one time, and as that box of prints gradually fills it starts to circle in my mind whether they are worthy of the public domain and how and where to get them out there. I’ve been fortunate with the ‘We love to Boogie’  series as  Brighton Pier is an ideal spot with a large footfall , the subject matter suits the venue, and it’s not a poncey gallery visited only by the middle aged and middle class (of which I am one). The A-Z of London Road exhibition in the old Co-op building was an an appropriate venue in that respect too as it was exhibited out in the street where the images  were taken and hopefully they had that  ‘of the people for the people’  feel to them. It was a shame the damp made the prints curl so much and was a lesson learnt as I’ve encased the Pier show in plastic so that they are essentially waterproof, they’ll probably be picked up on a beach in France in a few months time! Anyway one of my other boxes ‘on the go’ is Carry on Constable which are basically tongue in cheek snaps of coppers looking a bit daft, it’s no where near the moment to show them but I keep trying to think of a suitable spot for when that time comes. John Street Police Station springs to mind but somehow I don’t think they would let me as it might look like I was taking the piss, which of course  I am. Ta-ra for  now.

 

 

 

A new England ?

Recycling234

The Brighton Photo Fringe brochure hit the streets today and I was pleasantly surprised to see my Notting Carnival picture promoting the launch party, so thank you for that dear organisers. On another note we went down to our local boozer last night to have a farewell  glass with our neighbours Xavi and Mary who are moving up to London, but as Xavi teaches part time down here we’ll probably see them as much as ever (especially as he’ll be kipping in our front room on occasions). The conversation rolled around to the Scottish referendum which I find an increasingly  fascinating subject, and the ramifications of a Yes vote that will probably have a more profound effect south of the border. The most immediate problem would be the 2015 general election which surely would  be postponed as Sottish MPs sitting in Westminster would be voting on future English legislation. Postponement of an election is in itself an interesting  proposition as they only introduced fixed term parliaments in 2011, I believe it’s only happened once before and that was at the start of the Second World war. The other future scenario that could occur is that an independent Scotland joins the EU, and England in a referendum of it’s own votes to leave it. Add into this mix, the monarchy, the currency, the British army, the legal system, nuclear weapons and we have a mind boggling entanglement which would see even the best divorce lawyer quaking. If it is a ‘yes’  will we see the appearance of the necessary statesmen who can make forge a working relationship  without it reverting to a situation akin to the Balkans and the former Soviet Union? There is something devilish inside me which relishes a ‘yes’ in so much as it clarifies  English identity, no longer would we be British, or citizens of the UK, also it  puts a spoke in the wheel of UKIP as they would have to change their name, and  we may even start to see the seeds of republicanism starting to take root. We’ll have to wait and see I guess!