Reading back over my last post, I’m saddened by how angry and negative it sounds to me now. But transitions are messy and I’m still within that process. Because of the implications of the Covid-19 virus, in late February I decided to cancel my solo exhibition in Kyoto, due to be held in May of this year. I felt almost overwhelmed by the complex range of emotions surrounding this but the one which really took me by surprise, was a quiet yet insistent sense of relief. The Kyoto exhibition work had been completed as part of my PhD and as such, felt like a ‘stand alone’ body of work. But I was wrong – it wasn’t complete and in fact, was only the beginning of a what is turning out to be a much larger body of work. So my unexpected sense of relief at not being able to have the exhibition had been well placed after all.
Because of the UK lock-down during this virus, I realise that my relationship with time has shifted into a space which feels far more intuitive and as a result – is familiar and very comfortable. I feel no pressure to ‘be’ anything other than what is emerging now, to work with unanticipated emotions rather than against them. This is reflected in what I’m now creating in the studio. I don’t know where this work is going but am content to work slowly and attentively, using my skill, tacit knowledge and intuition to guide me. What first appeared as a disaster has revealed something I had never imagined and I have a renewed sense of purpose. Below is an image of part of the creating process I’m currently using as I develop this new body of work. Here I’ve used simple digital imaging tools to help me see aspects of it which otherwise, might remain hidden. My fascination with lines continues.
