A VERY wordy pre-assessment run-through

I’ll talk first about what’s on the wall- this is sort of where I am at the moment. I haven’t really reached any conclusions, but I feel that my work has started to say what I want it to- I’ve realised the position I’m in and where I’m coming from. So on the wall in the frames are... Well they’re both finished prints, and I’ve selected them because that was kind of the point in my printmaking, and my making, that again I was doing what I wanted to do, and the work was saying what I’ve been trying to say all this time, which was combining all of these places. I think place is my obsession; it’s all that I think about. And what I really want to do is bring all of these places that are geographically disparate and make them into one thing that I can see, and I can hold, to make it a little less frightening that they’re so separate. But I think what I especially liked about these prints as well was the process involved. I really like process.... I feel like to get anywhere you have to do a lot of things first... And the prints say that to me, even if they don’t to other people. Because obviously the process isn’t that evident. So they’re made by taking photographs of these dioramas that I made, which were created again in order to make all of these places one, and then combining these. So actually, in these single prints is a LOT of work, and a lot of place, and a lot of attachment to place I think.

So that’s what they mean to me...By seeing these prints and everything that’s gone into making them, and all the feeling that my heart is in all of these places... It’s very evident to me in these prints. And while that’s obviously not necessarily visible to an audience, that’s not really an issue. I realise that an audience is going to take something different from my work, and I think they can be appreciated aesthetically. I think they’re beautiful prints, and I think they summon an imaginary kind of landscape. But I also do think that there’s that feeling of layers, and palimpsest and memory attached to them. So I’m please with them, and I’m pleased that that’s where I’ve reached in my thoughts. So it’s about combining real places, combining imaginary places... And I think the overriding theme was to bring my life together into one understandable thing.

So all of this stuff on the wall, which is always on the wall, this is my process... Which I don’t think I realised quite how important it was until Edith actually spelled it tout to me. It’s a really intense thing. But what’s also on the wall, that little shelf, I made this book. Throughout this project I’ve been writing and making imagery, and doing all this stuff, and I wanted to combine it into a book... Or into something that could be reproduced and shared with other people that tells a story about what I’m doing, alongside this other imagery. But I wanted to make something that wasn’t too specific, and doesn’t give away too much of myself, in the hope that it could be sort of universal, and that I could also keep something for my own, that could still be a secret. So it’s been a kind of a cathartic process, in a way, letting these bits out a little a time... Releasing these pieces of myself without giving away too much. But the process isn’t over. That’s been an important part of it, about sharing this thing. And I also think it’s really good for me to produce something other than just these things that could be viewed as ‘pretty’. Because I’m more than that, I’m a thinker, and I think my work is more the thought that’s behind it, so I found that really important.

Obviously there are the models. They were quite recent as well; I think they were my eureka moment. Using this material that I’ve never used before, and that I’ve really enjoyed... I think cardboard is so simple and underrated, and you can do whatever you want with it. Make something 3D that’s a bit cute, and a bit playful. And the reason that I made these was so that I could create a landscape without just painting a picture or whatever, and something that you can kind of step into... Like a little stage. So two of these are scenes from out of my head, imaginary places for me to inhabit. There’s an element of fantasy there; I think there always is in my work- I’m only living half in reality. The white one, which is obviously a series of places... They’re all real places that mean something to me, and I made these templates from my own memory of these paces. And that was very much about... By making these places into one model, I was bringing them together into one landscape that you could view as one... Imagining that all these places are in one country, and one landscape that you could travel. I think it was really significant to do that... I mean, that’s the point. It’s their geographical separation that troubles me so much. It’s something that I want to do more of, making these models. And I also like that I could then go on to use them in my prints, rather than them just being what they are.

What I’ve also made, there’s obviously this pile of books and journals... I made those because I wanted to keep all of this information that I’ve gathered, and I like being able to present it in a different way. Obviously there’s this stuff on the wall, but there’s a LOT of information left over, and I think it’s important for me to have these archives that I can look through and remember what I was thinking about- These things that you might otherwise forget, or not realise how significant they are. It’s about documentation, and collecting... Keeping this story. I made this one while I was in Laugharne, which is in Wales, and it’s where Dylan Thomas lived. So it’s a really special place to me, not only because my family live in Wales, and I went there with my family, but because it was kind of a pilgrimage for me because I’m so inspired by Dylan Thomas, as an artist, and I do feel that his work has influenced mine since... Always. So by making this book I documented my feelings, and the things that I collected on this trip. And that was a really great experience doing that; I did it for the Big Sneak too, and it was just really fun. It was really fun being able to document it in that way, which was like half reflective journal, but also like an artefact in itself. It’s been another thing that I’ve tried, and I’ve liked. And it obviously went on to prompt me to make this book that accompanies the prints that I made.

There’s obviously also this initial stuff that I began way back at the start of the first term... Still thinking about place, but thinking about a single significant place- what qualifies it as a place of significance... Why is it so important for me? Why do I hang onto it? I enjoyed that, but it didn’t really work for me because I felt that my heart was in so many places, and there was no way I could concentrate on this one thing and say ‘Yeah, that means something, and I really want to talk about it’, when there’s so many other places that are sort of equal in significance to me. I think my heart just was... Is, continues to be in so many places ... The whole point in this was that I don’t feel that I can just stay in one. But what came out of it was this painting, which I think does work for me more because it’s less about a specific place, more the essence of it, the evocation of this place, and remembering it. But it’s quite sort of vague, and airy... More like a wisp of memory, rather than geographically specific. This was the initial direction that I was going in, and I didn’t take it, I went somewhere else because by looking at that I realised it wasn’t really honest, or enough...

The same thing, I went to this derelict building and explored it, and made these monoprints and took objects and photos... And as before, it was focusing on this single place of fascination and drawing all that I could from it, which just wasn’t enough. But I had these ideas of regrowing a place from things that I’ve taken from a place, be they objects or memories or whatever... And I like that idea, I like being able to keep something very tiny which means something huge. But in this instance, it wasn’t sort of.... nourishing enough.

And obviously in the Lobby I’ve got the stuff form The Big Walk. Firstly, I’ll talk about how it’s laid out... And this was from speaking to Edith, and after I rearranged what’s going on in the studio. There’s a lot of stuff going on in the Lobby from all of us, and I think this was because of the desire to make something honest and real, because that’s exactly what it was. And The Big Walk project that we did was all about landscape and duration, which was something that especially Didge and I became particularly obsessed by, and decided to experiment with endurance once a month for an event. So we did the 24 Hour Clock in October, and then Didge and I did The Big Sneak in November that I made a little book about, and then we did that walk in December, which was 12 hours. And it was really nice having the element of teamwork in there... I think a lot of my work is quite insular, and focused on what’s going on inside me, so I think walking like that with people ,and experiencing that landscape as a group was really exciting actually, and made for a really different experience. And then going on to work in a group afterwards, and discuss and unravel this experience also altered it and made it into something really sort of chunky, and rich in information and memory, and inspiration.

We were just able to completely immerse ourselves into the landscape- push our bodies and minds. It was just all about walking, and especially because we decided to walk under the full moon, so anything could happen, but walking at night, it gave us a completely different perspective, and allowed us to use our other senses. So it was about feeling, and about trusting each other, and trusting the landscape and our preparations- of which there were a lot! In terms of what we wore, what we were about to do to our bodies- walking 25 miles, which was quite exciting- food... All the things like that, and also documentation. Because we didn’t just document through photographs, as is evident, we did it through drawing, or recordings, or talking.. All the things like that. So I think it kind of runs tandem to what I’ve been doing in the studio. In the studio there’s been all of these places; it was very much about place, and geography, and my associations. And then this, The Big Walk, was about my body, and mind, and sharing the experience of treading the landscape that we currently inhabit. So there were very different associations connected to each one. One was all about nostalgia, and memory, and being melancholy. And The Big Walk was more a celebration I think of what we were doing. So it’s quite a bittersweet place to leave this project really... because there’s the good and the bad, and it’s not over... But it’s a nice little stopping point, I think.

The big Walk- Lobby

The process is important. I've not reached any kind of conclusion or resolution with The Big Walk yet, so why should I present it as such?
What I should present is the process that has come from this experience.
The mad head-mess that I always plaster the walls with.
Photographs, prints, photocopies, writing... There's so much information.

27/01/12

So now I shall talk every night. To myself. To the moon. I shall walk, as I did tonight, jealous of my loneliness, in the blue-silver of the cold moon, shining brilliantly on the drifts of fresh-fallen snow, with the myriad sparkles. I talk to myself and look at the dark trees, blessedly neutral. So much easier than facing people, than having to look happy, invulnerable, clever. With masks down, I walk, talking to the moon, to the neutral impersonal force that does not hear, but merely accepts my being. And does not smite me down.

                                                -Sylvia Plath

Plath, S. (2000) The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath. New York: Random House. (P.200)

Proposal- Lift Gallery

Call 1 - PCA Lift Gallery

You are being asked to produce a new work or submit work for a group exhibition to happen in the Lift Gallery at PCA between the 27th of February and take down 16th of March. 
You will be required to install your work yourself and be available to undertake this during the week of the 27th of February 

The work you produce should respond to the theme of:

"False idols: from Deity to concept: The notion of the polemic, an impassioned argument that suggests a discursive belief or the act of questioning."

You are required to create a, or a collection of works using any medium you deem feasible in the time given, ready to install by Friday the 2nd of March. This means you will need to source any equipment, including securing devices, for install and the period of the show. 

You should accept the challenge of adapting and reworking your existing practice and ideas to fit this theme. 

Proposals should be submitted to Neil Rose and Steven Paige to be received no later than 4pm on Friday the 3rd of February. 

Initial thoughts:

I will be exploring folklore and mythology surrounding man's obsession with the Moon, the effect the Moon has on humans both physically and psychologically, and the effect that the Moon has on this planet.

The Moon has been a source of human fascination throughout history, and there are numerous Gods and Deities  representing, or who take power over or reside within the Moon, throughout every culture. I wish to explore this obsession through my own experiences- specifically a recent moonlit walk that inspired a recent group show in the Lobby that myself and two fellows students produced art for and curated.

I was intruigued by te lasting effect the Moon seemed to have on us, and its very definite presence in all of our works since the event.

My piece will take the form of a wall-based 'collage', comprising research and information, collected items, drawing and prints inspired by my explorations... This method of display demonstrates a near-obsessive process that makes up my art practice, suggesting a parallel with lunacy.

Studio update 26/01/12

 This I can explain, but it doesn't seem natural.

This I can't, but it comes easily.
Edith used the word 'forced', and she was right.
By presenting my process in this way I thought I was making it clearer for myself to explain. But by doing this, I was taking away the process itself and showing it as something other, and less genuine, so what I would be explain actually would be there anymore.
The reasoning that lead me to present in this way initially was that I wanted to translate an incredibly convoluted and complicated project into something explainable and concise. I didn't stop to consider that perhaps it doesn't need to be this way, and if convoluted and complicated are the ways that I work then it would be unnecessary and untrue to present my work as anything other.
The decision to rethink and rearrange my work for assessment was not taken on my own initiative, but I believe now that it is the right one. My work has been quite insular up to this point and it was necessary, and continues to be necessary for me to have this outside input in order for me ot understand what I'm seeing.

The Lobby- 2 hour hang group critique

The lobby- 2 Hour Hang; crit/discussion

Steven
Edith

So, what do you guys think... the overall look of the exhibition? There’s definitely a couple of things that stand out about it. You could talk about colours, shapes, pattern. There’s an interesting pattern going on. 

I especially like the corner, the idea of the fairytale going on. 

I think that’s something really interesting, you can actually tell stories, you can develop a narrative. You have Natalie’s sculpture... It looks like fairytale decapitation. And then this beautiful drawing of a girl, something a bit sinister there perhaps, Grimm’s fairytales.

Could I ask why you decided to turn the name of the exhibition sideways like that?

That’s actually one of the things I was going to point out that we failed at- we worked up to the last minute, and nobody had time to deal with that. It was only supposed to be 2 hours. In theory it should have had whatever it’s called with all your names on it. That’s what you should have had. And that’s one of my criticisms; when people walk in they don’t know what this is. What would have been nice if we’d had the time, which we didn’t, is having all of your names, and you could have had a map... but that’s a whole other job. Maybe the way we organised ourselves last week... That’s the kind of things that always trips you up; the text panels, the maps, the signage... The gallery will come up to you at the last minute saying ‘what about that wall panel?’ four hours before opening... But actually it’s the thing that people will read. They’ll come in and read that first. So I think you’re right to pick up on that. It was about the time... I think it’s nice that they just gave us two hours. Somebody talk about the colours!

I don’t like that bit (Maddy + Matt), because it’s black and white, and suddenly it’s colour. I think that should have been on the other wall, and something else there. I don’t want them to be there. So you should have had black and white, and then colour. 

Don’t take this as a criticism, but is that perhaps a bit simplistic about...? I think one of the arguments was about breaking this up, if I remember. Do you remember why we said that? There was a point when we were left with 4 or 5... And I think because they were quite small, and quite cute in size and colour, and then there were these big ones... I think you guys took one approach and did all the big ones first. And obviously there was some patterning going on... and we just had those two guys left. I think there’s a big of a diagonal going on with the sweets. But I think that’s interesting, you would have actually broken it into two...
What do you think about the method, how we did it? Do you think a process based approach is good?

I think they just put them into clusters didn’t they, they had that idea of how they were going to hang it, and I think that worked well.

You have to start somewhere and then see if it works. 

What would be another approach to how you would hang these?

Put them on the floor, and see how they respond to each other?

That’s actually how they did it... But Tom was very vocal about what he was thinking about a lot of the stuff, and he was really doing patterns, and was actually quite disruptive to the rest of the group... Which is fine! It’s his approach, there’s no problem with it. And I think sometimes you need a rhythm, it’s quite intense looking at artwork. So I think Liam’s piece is actually really well placed because it’s a really dark, intense piece of work, and actually it’s got a bit of breathing space. 

I like Liam’s piece there, but I think with Liam’s piece and my piece it could have been placed a bit differently. In my mind, if you were walking into this room you’d associate my piece with Liam’s piece... you wouldn’t necessarily think they were two different artists. I like where they’ve been put, but I think they could have had more breathing space. 

I felt that way about all of it... I wasn’t here for the hang and I don’t have an alternative... But I thought that they would be clustered, and I think that’s a bit obvious. I think like Lance was saying, it puts them into groups for the viewer, which isn’t maybe a good thing. 

So they alternative would be to literally do the classic hang?

I don’t know if that would be an improvement, but this is what I thought would happen. 

I think there’s a really interesting didactic in that you guys are talking about the artist... respecting the artist and the artist’s practice, and giving the artist breathing space... And then there’s the story and narratives, and I think the guys who were doing it were literally trying to make sense without thinking individually too much... Create an easy eye. How could a viewer come in and not just see a line, like you do in most galleries... Which is fine. There is a reason why people do that, some artists insist on it... Some of you might insist on it.

But I think if it were a deliberately themed show, then that would be the correct approach, but it wasn’t, and it’s trying to fit a theme and a template onto something that doesn’t have one. 

You’re absolutely right; Do you guys remember Animal Gaze? It was this very big show all about animals. So you had your theme... That was it. If there were animals, they were in the show. They literally hung it like this, put it together like this. And I struggled with that, because what you were doing, you were making associations. But it wasn’t like they put all the ducks over there, and the owls over here, but they did it... There was kind of the darker things here, and the big things had their own space. But that’s about exhibition design, and how do you articulate all of these artists’ practices in a larger whole. Whereas with this, it was half of you guys knowing each other, and half of you trying to make it have a narrative. In some senses, I think you’ve achieved that definitely.
In terms of the shapes of things- everything seems to be up and down, which is interesting. And I do think it’s very monochrome. If you got given this work from a selection... Say you’re a judge, and you chose all this work... How would you think about it in terms of.... How would your approach be. Would it be to get a ruler out?

For me, in my mind, I’d be looking at symmetry. But that’s just the way I work. 

What if it’s a performance?

I think even with performance it still works, that you can have symmetry within that, depending on how it’s placed in the room. 

Symmetry to me, the idea that they’re reflecting either, either to compliment or contrast, I like that.

I think there’s two things... I’ve worked in a gallery where that’s actually the rule, and at Tate Britain they had to have big corners... One painting per wall. But i think another aspect, because the gallery’s such a ripe place, such a contested space.... Does anyone understand what I mean when I say that, that the white cube’s a contested space? When I say contested, I mean it’s not a neutral space, it’s not a blank space. I think a symmetrical hang is pointing towards this sort of modernist approach, something they were doing in the 1950s. You’re almost complying to the modernist ideal. Now, I think within that there’s a lot of movement... Hence something like this is starting to potentially break that. It could be one approach, that you start to think how could you do that narratitively... Telling a story. Like you’ve got sweets and sweets, pretty straightforward, fairytale corner... But I think you’ve got to think about the spaces. The notion is site, context, situation. Basically there’s the notion that this is a site, as well as a gallery, as well as a situation. If you guys remember, we had Kensa’s maps, and we created a reading space here... As opposed to putting the maps up and treating them beautifully. I think it was really interesting that you wanted them handled... so that was suddenly a situation rather than the white cube thing.
So do you think this is a good show, a strong show? If it is, I think it’s got strengths and weaknesses.

I think with the time we had... What we had, I think it works really well. I didn’t realise how much it would change with walking through... It does make it a lot nicer, and more like you’re coming into an art space, rather than just blank walls. 

The way it’s been hung now feels slightly more personal... While we were doing it, there were those frantic two hours when we were making the exhibition of work that we had. We’ve not literally made is just like ‘here’s some artwork, have a look; we tried to give each piece a narrative. So I think just hanging it in one line would have given it a completely different feel, which in my mind wouldn’t have worked because it would have felt completely disconnected from the work. 

I like it. There’s not a lot that I would change. I do think that you have to be careful with the narratives, and how you put things together. But I generally... The way it’s been done with the levels, and the types of pieces that we have, there’s not a lot that I would change considering it’s one of our first group shows. 

I like it. I think I prefer this side, just because of the shapes of the room. I think it works better having this inward shape... I think the door on that side breaks things up a  bit too much. I think if that wasn’t there, and there was another piece there, then that would work much better. But I think it works well.

It’s interesting how the wall become a part of the space, and that door’s very disruptive, and we’ve deliberately pointed the lighting away from it. 

Maybe you could make it work... Just have a piece designed for the two doors.

What do you think is maybe missing, potentially?

What I like about it is the lack of professional framing.. I think it makes it very immediate, instead of mounts and frames getting in the way of it. 

Stylistically, absolutely. There’s something really nice, and very immediate, and the pinning; It’s very contemporary as well; that kind of immediate work. And it’s not grand-ising the work as well. Even the one that we have with glass in it, I think there’s something very alive about it. 

I think I agree about those two by the door; Not only are they a bit odd in that area, but you can’t really see them when you come through the doors. 

I actually think they look good together, but I think this wall is a void... They’re lost. They’re in a big space... Those two are close together, those two are close together, but there’s a big void in between.

They almost feel like individual exhibitions. 

That’s what would happen I think if you put all the colours on this side.

I think you need something on that wall (Maddy + Matt’s piece), I think it would feel empty if there was nothing on there. But what would you put there instead of those two?

I wonder what would happen if you’d put them on the doors. I wonder if you’d included the doors in the exhibition, and put the light son them, if they’d fade... The size of them, it could have worked.

It would be interesting because you’d have the line of whatever went there, and then the line of the door frame itself.

I’d say the fact that there’s  variety of styles.. It probably wouldn’t have worked so well if you’d done it in a conventional way.

I imagine there would have been a lot of tension... They would have almost been arguing against each other. In a way, I’d love if we had the time to do a classic hang like an exercise. 

I think that bit looks like they fit together really well, and the rest don’t, those three there. 

They’re almost like three photographs.

I just realised sitting down here- the glass ones, the light is not very good. I like that they’re not as high as the gallery because I don’t like peering up. I like that it’s not the line of God...

Do you remember when we went into British Art Show, and you were saying you really love that there was this beautiful line, and then it changed a bit. And there were the small things on the floor that moved up as well, so you had this different patterning. 

That’s what I mean about symmetry. You can have the disjointed symmetry, and it still has these different levels.

You could have areas of uniformity maybe, rather than think of the whole thing as uniform. You could potentially have four hanging, and then start to do this grouping again. 

I think it does work... I just don’t like that wall (Maddy + Matt)

I think it should be instinctive. There’s an element of being theoretical, and then I think there’s a thing where you just know in your gut that that doesn’t work right for you, and when you’re hanging your shows and working with other artists and seeing people hanging your work you’re just like ‘no, that needs to be moved left’. It’s an instinctive thing. You can’t explain it; it’s just what you see in your head. 

I don’t know if it’s because of the security thing next to it...

They look less important don’t they, being shoved into that little space.

There is no right or wrong, this is totally an experiment. And also, every space will be different... Every time. You’ll have a warehouse, like the Vessel, that was very warehousey. 

Tht hing I like is the thing that puts me off a bit as well.. I like that it’s set out in patterns, but if I look at that wall, I find it a bit overpowering. (Main wall) That bit’s not so bad, butI find that area too much ot look at.. I’m not sure where I’m looking. And Liam’s piece beneath Lance’s, I think that seems a bit lost over there. I look there and I’m immediately drawn to the one above it. 

Don’t think of it... It was within the timeframe we had. But I liked how you resolved things, and how everyone just accepted. Especially the guys working on it were like ‘this is how we’ll do this, it’ll work like that, it’ll work like that...’ and I was amazed, there weren’t actually any arguments... there was a bit of Mrmrgrrrmrr. But that was about it. 

At the moment, I’ve ranged it into colour ranges. So at the moment it’s like pale grey, intense, colour, a bit more colour, mixed. And I don’t think that the work at the bottom should have been there (Liam’s), I think it should have been with the other piece. I don’t think it worked with Lance’s piece at all. Lance’s work is busy, and in your face, and you kind of jump into it, and the other, you just think ‘well, why is that there?’

Can you remember why we split those up? Oh it was the shape wasn’t it, because one goes up and one goes like that... It was a big ‘L’ wasn’t it. This corner was figured almost, and that had come together, and we just had that gap left... It was a bit like a square peg in a round hole. And that happens as well unfortunately.

I like this wall, I don’t like this. (Main wall vs. Wall with door)

I don’t like those two together (Lance + Liam). I think they’re two quite heavy pieces of work... I just think something lighter needed to be around. 

Or recognise that they’re two very dense pieces of work, and they need their space. 

I just don’t like this whole wall, when I first came in I noticed that wall (Main wall)

The other thing to think about it how you move around the space, and how you want other people to move around the space. And I suppose as soon as you walk in, the immediate thing is ‘oh that’s great’ (Main wall), and then you’re by the door before you even realise there’s stuff round here. But then, this is a corridor, it’s not a cube. 

Well I wasn’t here for the hanging, but when I came in it did look like it had been ‘put together’, to be looked at, rather than it just being pieces of work. I did enjoy it. Other than a few bits that have been pointed out, I did think that they went well together. 

That’s interesting, you coming at it unknowing, and actually thinking there’s been a bit of trouble gone into this. 

If I was involved in it, I’d want something big, and possibly not square put in the middle of that wall (Back wall with door), instead of the uniformity.

So don’t roll over because some of the spaces are challenging...

I think what this wall could  have done if you’d had more smaller works- I mean, you could call the artist and say ’could we have another one?’- But you could also have a similar kind of hanging as you have here, and that could have pulled them more together. And then t hose two little ones could have maybe been integrated in a similar king of hanging as there is on that wall (Main wall.)

Preparation for assessment 08/02/12

Stopping making now.
Now I need to unravel, and then pull together this thing that I've made.
Justify it.

Tutorial with Jane today about what's expected for the coming assessment;

-Tracking high points.
-Things to come back to in the future that couldn't be explored at the moment.
-Something completed/near completion.
How this would be shown/curated.
(Why am I choosing to display my work in the way that I am- would anything else be preferable/more efficient?)

What is it that makes the 'finished' work finished? What's my criteria- or is it just a feeling?

Show all work. Have it available.
Also make book of B+W printouts mapping journey- imagery- notes. I can bind this + have it ready to show.
(Do this!)

Find soome kind of order. A way to present + explain work.
Criteria?

-Give an example of the way you evaluate a piece of work.
-Evaluate my 'finished print' + the images/method of display that I've chosen for this assessment.
What is the significance of the way I've decided to do things?
-Identify where you are heading
-Contextualise.

^^All of this info should be combined with the book of images- Bound together.

Pairing down... Getting rid.
What is essential?
What should be taken forward?

Studio update 17/01/12

What I choose to show...
Two and a half weeks before assessment week.
This project can't come to a close, it just goes on and on... but if this module must end somewhere, and I have to present, then what I must show is my journey....
Documentative, descriptive, honest imagery and text.
My notes.

3-6

We shut the night out;
Bears and beasts and others like us.
Teeth, cold; and the
Monstrous echoes.

Black eyes over tea steam and
Despair.
(As if kissing made it better.)
I don't think I could sleep tonight.
Keep the light on instead, and
By blanketed Devon morning, cover up and
Carry on
Sparse and fasted.

Of course I do all the wrong things.

13/01/12 (2)

13/01/12

07/01/12

I remember as the only memory
Bare-footed and dirty
In the heat and the dust.
Evergreen provider.
How I could trace these shapes and
free and torn;
Twice a day, three times, I'd soften.
And almost never

Expose my dread, and
falter within this landscape.

02/01/12