Happy Wednesday pals! I’d like to start off by sincerely apologising for last week’s distinct lack of Unreality content. I’ve been up to my eyeballs swamped with work and sadly just couldn’t fit one in. But nevertheless, onwards and upwards, let’s get this show on the road again!
Since I’ve really had my head down in my work lately I thought I’d share some thoughts today on how Unreality feeds into and ultimately drives my arts practice. You may have seen me playfully refer to myself as an escape artist (and I bet you thought ‘wow that is a brilliant pun’ didn’t you?) so here is some of the thinking behind that moniker.
Art as an alternative to reality
Considering all the things that sit under the umbrella of art - like visual arts, film, theatre and music - what excites me most is the potential to create spaces. And by space I mean ‘thing you can inhabit’, something you can be surrounded by or exist within. So these could be physical spaces, but also spaces in time, or in your mind or somehow in the way you feel. These spaces can have completely different rules to the real world - different social rules, different rules for living, even different physical rules (in the case of films that feature magic, for example). And when you’re in that space you’re temporarily out of the one you normally inhabit.
In this way I see art as unique in its potential as a method for questioning reality. It enables the creation, consideration and exploration of endless alternatives to the reality we know. Art provides this freeing and malleable space in which we can experiment with different approaches to existence and perception. The work I create is often an attempt to remove its audience from reality in some way, to create a space outside of it. In many cases this stems from a personal desire to escape - to step out of this world into another one - for reasons ranging from relieving the pressures of neurotypical societal norms to dealing with trauma.
Perception and Perspective
I have just completed a new work for the soon-to-launch exhibition All Alone, curated by Meadow Arts for Fishpool Valley at Croft Castle. The themes of the show speak strongly to my personal worldview and my escapist mindset.
Through the work of five artists, All Alone proposes a creative re-examination of the human condition of aloneness, a topic that has known many interpretations over the centuries, but has recently, through the Covid-19 crisis, been brought sharply to the forefront of our collective consciousness. Beyond the physical pressures of being isolated, lockdown is/was a communal experience, but each individual experience is unique, which is isolating in itself. The title, All Alone, reflects on the paradoxical commonality of aloneness.
I am generally a very solitary artist. As hard as I try to break out of it, I regularly retreat back into working in isolation. The virtual worlds I create are often specifically intended to be experienced alone, and many of my 3D rendered scenes feature lone figures finding comfort and security in imaginary deserted landscapes. To be alone for me is not necessarily to be lonely, something which ties in really nicely to the thoughts behind the exhibition.
For All Alone I have created a two-part work titled Perception and Perspective, featuring a physical installation in Fishpool Valley and an Instagram filter (that I’ve discussed previously).
The installation features three hand-painted 18th century wooden chairs, referencing the history of the location whilst incorporating the ubiquitous vibrant and otherworldly colours that are characteristic of my work. Spaced apart throughout the valley, they represent and invite solitary contemplation. They also stand as incongruous interventions in space, that sort of belong and don’t belong at the same time. A bit like how I feel in the world, I suppose.
Thank you my dear readers for joining me for this one today, and apologies again for the missed week. As I expand this newsletter I think it would be lovely to invite some guest writers as you always have such great points of view and experiences to bring to the table - and then I could also schedule in occasional breaks for when my workload gets crazy again… If this sounds like something you’d be interested in do get in touch via the discord server.
For more information about All Alone and the other brilliant artists involved check out the Meadow Arts website. If you’d like to hear myself and others talk about the show you can join us at the online launch on the 29th of July. Finally, my Claude Glass filter that I mentioned in a previous post will be live at ediejomurray.co.uk/claudeglass from the 24th of July. Do tag me on insta @echodeltamoon if you use it!
See you next week xoxo
Glad you are back. Last Wednesday was incomplete without a touch of Unreality.