The Winter Show, Labour and Craftsmanship, is approaching terribly rapidly –  I’ve decided to go for the re-creation of Kerouac’s desk, with the scroll i typed from my notebooks (well over sixteen feet!)looped around the back and curling up in the final version of Moriaty’s paper suitcase.I ordered the wood I’ll need from the timberyard, and ended up going to the same place my dad used to go to – i’ve not been in there since i was 12 and it was a weird sensation, everything was exactly the same but very slightly lower down…

So, before making the thing for real i made a stick figure:

   

This will be placed against a wall, and will have a short film looped over it, for which i need as many volunteers who can head down to Walsall College for a short filming session as possible. The piece is provisionally entitled ‘The Lonely Crowd’, the idea being that it’s seminal works like On the Road that we read when feeling isolated from our peers, and for me the fact I had this book in common with so many people that I would never meet made me feel that little bit less lost, which is why i want to combine the images of so many, all interacting with the objects on the table but never with each other. 

If you want to take part you will need:

1. To be available for filming in Walsall, England, at some point between 18th-20th January
2. To be wearing a white t shirt and jeans (if you don’t have a white t shirt let me know and I’ll make sure there’s one you can wear)
3. To sit and type for up to fifteen minutes. This can be anything you like, from your opinions of the novel to your own work
4. To get in touch with me! You can leave a comment, contact me via facebook or email fiveandnine@hotmail.com

In return you’ll get:

1. Fully credited for your part in the project
2. A PDF copy on disc and a printed copy on A4 of the scroll you’ve helped create
3. A photocopy of the edited sixteen foot scroll I’ve already created
4. A cup of coffee

No matter whether you want to take part or point and laugh, you’re all invited to the private view of the exhibition, to be held at the Custard Factory Gallery on 26th January 2010 from 6-8:30pm, more details here: Winter Show 2010

Also bounding toward me like an over-friendly hound of hell is the site specific sculpture project – I’ve made several decisions on this one, mainly to work on a variant of the floating pennant idea i was considering. The balloons proved to be too difficult to manage, but i liked the idea of some wind play so i’m remembering Randy Cooper’s use of wire mesh with fringing to catch the breezes. Again, I’ve been playing with mesh, paint and crystals…

   

later experiments with a roll of poundworld chicken wire proved…. interesting. However, this project is remaining on the back (ish) burner until I’ve finished building the desk. I think I have the basic premise down, so i’m letting that little fish swim around my subconscious for a while.

Other news this week: It snowed.

Happy winter y’all

Vix