I went to a birthday party on Saturday (nice to get out of the house, what!) and had a fun conversation about spying, the people who say other people are spies, and whether or not they are. Spying always makes me think of my dad, and I’d made a short story about him on just this subject in January 2021, so I’ve redrawn and posted it here!
I attended an online talk by Pia Bramley last night, organised by Venster Academy. Pia was fascinating talking about her drawing, and why she makes the art she does. A lot of her work is set in domestic spaces, and she has enough drawings in bathrooms that she wants to collect them into a book.
When I go to galleries or exhibitions I’m often struck by this question, about the subject matter we choose. I guess we overuse “obsession” these days, but it seems likely that in order to spend hours and hours on a subject (I mean one you’ve chosen, not a commission), you must have a bit of obsession about it. Why one thing, and not another? To me, machines are inherently “boring” to draw - but why, when the marks are the same as when I’m drawing a person?
Especially when I’m looking at a painting of (to me) really weird, uninteresting subject matter, that will have taken the artist HOURS or WEEKS or MONTHS of their precious one lives to make, I wonder why. Why that subject matter, from that angle, with that particular emphasis? I guess one artist’s Venetian canal is another’s Disaffected Naked Women.
I’m going to try to keep Pia’s words in my mind, and reflect more about why I make the kinds of things that I do.
My friend Ella Beech made a lovely post on reflecting this week - you can find it here.
I strongly suspect that you are a spy Tor, and this is all a bluff…
Best conversation! Biko and I are chuckling at this due to his habit of branding everyone a spy, and in a meta move he says of your father - 'sounds like a spy If I've ever seen one'. Love this post x