a very personal look back at fifty years of life.
Popelier. Solo show. New works.
ポペリエ。 個展。新作のご紹介です。
…
Thursday 7th – Saturday 30th July 2022
2022年7月7日(木) – 30日(土)
…
Open オープン:
Wed-Sat 水~土
13:00 – 19:00
…
Closed 休廊:
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
日曜日、月曜日、火曜日
…
Facebook Event Page
https://fb.me/e/3cc1IVo09
…
exhibition photos
artworks
all artworks created in 6 days with these materials- acrylic paint, spray paint, marker pen, card, stickers, ink jet print on brown craft paper, mounted on autograph board.
400 x 400mm
“if I met this kid now, what CAN I tell him”
the oldest photo I have of myself is from my first passport when I was 5 years old. Fifty years later, I look at that photo and I wonder if I would tell him what lies ahead. Is it possible to avoid all the bad things without upsetting the good things? Is one dependant on the other? To tell all, would surely change the path of his future, therefore changing my history…..
“I grew up here, but not in a good way”
a stylised version of the flag of the place in which I grew up in. On certain days, it was a beautiful haven, free and disconnected from the greater picture. A societal blind eye, however, protected by narrow-mindedness and the fear of being ostracised in a very small community, allowed an acceptance of bigotry and abuse, that only places off the beaten track can get away with. Mentally, physically and spiritually, a “bloody” environment that still hurts today.
“the dark can hide everything, almost”
in my late adolescence and early adulthood, I liked to be in the dark, even in the company of others. I could hide my faults and lack of confidence more easily.
“went back twice, still can’t call it home”
my relationship with the country of my birth is like almost all my relationships- difficult. I’ve lived there twice in my adult life and I have never felt 100% comfortable in Australia, despite meeting great people and visiting wonderful places. It always feels like I’m missing something that would help me understand. The numbers for the East Coast are my scores out of 10. I only have vague childhood memories of Perth, so it feels unfair to give a score here. Currently, Osaka is an 8.
“maybe japan did save me”
did coming Japan change my life for the better? By settling down in this absurdly contradictory culture did it allow me to hide in plain view, be free from the constraints of Western society? After feeling “alien” amongst my own “kind” in the UK and Australia, has being truly “alien” here in Osaka made it, finally, my home? Is this where I belong? To be honest, as fascinating as this country is on a daily basis, I don’t belong here either. But it will have to do for now.
“vitruvian pop, everybody dance now”
there seems a trend for people of a certain age to shed everything and bare themselves to all. For a long time I have been fascinated in the similairty between Sopdet’s star and Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. To end this exhibition, I wanted to do something fun after all the seriousness.
Here I am, at 55 years old.
I’ve come a long, long way.
exhibition flyer
