Farewell flickr friends – I'm taking a break

It's been creeping up on me for a while – tiredness, a sense of malaise around posting my photographs on flickr. Why do I continue to do it? The familiar cycle of taking photographs, editing, uploading and waiting to see what happens – will anyone 'favourite' them or leave a comment? Shall I spend some time favouriting and commenting back on photographs from my 'flickr friends' or flickr strangers whose images intrigue me? There's a lot that keeps me doing it: the joy of taking pictures nearly every day, making decisions about them and watching them change over time, the grit of practice, of mining away at ideas and having something to do with the images, the inspiration from other photographers work. But the flip side is what's become a borderline addiction, endlessly checking who's commented or favourited on what – and then doing the same back. As an activity it's starting to feel like a distraction – from what I'm not yet sure, but I hope to start to find out. So for the moment it's farewell flickr friends – I'm taking a break –

Drifting

It's been a while since I've written anything – been busy putting together a short film: Appearance, for last term's Screen module at college. I've enjoyed putting it together but it seems that (inevitably?) it's pulled my focus away from photography.

For the last few years I've started the new year with a daily practice of taking a photograph on a specific theme. This year I didn't and I feel somewhat cast adrift.But maybe that's not such a bad thing – a period of drifting......


  

Crossing Borders - A Festival of Plates

These 21 handmade plates are the result on an on-going partnership between UNWRA (United Nations Relief and Work Agency) schools in Gaza and Chelsea Community Hospital School in London.

Here's the full story http://www.scoop.it/t/plate-project

Carry On

So many strands and directions going on with the photography at the moment that it's impossible to keep up with writing about it here. (And why even?) But still – here's a lump of meat that I came across the other day lying on the ground. Being a vegetarian I'm ignorant as to what it is - a chop? pork? lamb? but nevertheless there it was, lying on the ground. I posted the photo on Flickr and called it Street Meat - not the most charming title but evocative enough.

The one thing that does seem to be happening is that different projects and areas of enquiry, whether practical or theoretical, seem to be influencing each other and sometimes in surprising ways.

What to do but carry on!

On the usefulness of blocks

Blocks come in many shapes and sizes and I wish these were the ones annoying me at the moment –  then I could just look the other way. But maybe it's only a question of scale – a block for one might be a stepping stone for another – and they're also quite handy for building up the pressure – and for stopping things from rolling downhill – oh and for building things – OK bring on the blocks.

Analogue – 01

Got a bunch of old films = some colour and some bw. Shot the first film (Agfa XRG 200 ) on a Konica Auto S2. http://mattsclassiccameras.com/konica_autos2.html
I got it developed at snappy snaps to see wether getting the prints, as in days of old, was part of the equation – but it wasn't (tho maybe I should have picked gloss over the not quite matt).  But looking at them scanned there definitely is a particular quality - here looking sharp and contrasty. The blue / green maybe from it being 5six years out of date.

Films about estates

Films about estates  – as I'm thinking to make something based around our estate – but not at all in a documentary style.


I am Here is a great project on an estate in Haggerstone facing regeneration – lots about it here http://www.fugitiveimages.org.uk/projects/i-am-here/


 


Kind of Solid Concrete by Michael Jaworski documents another estate, Robin Hood Gardens, in east London facing regeneration




I put together David Idowu Peace Day video back in 2010. David Idowu, a local teenager was tragically killed in 2008 – the peace day is an annual remembrance and celebration of positive aspects of our community.
I was kinda lazy and put it together using Animoto http://animoto.com

PSY - GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일)

This term we have to make a choice between the contexts of page and screen - and produce either a book or a short film. Seems I have to go down the film route especially as it gives the chance to work with sound and image together. I'm interested to see how it compares to the combining of image and text. I've been looking at music videos as they seem to hold a culturally easily understood combo of sound and image. Here's PSY - GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일)


 

ONE DAY IN FLAT IRON SQUARE - the private view party

The private view at the Island Cafe was great fun and despite the torrential rain Deirdre Jonnie Nikki Conal Andrew Tom Charlie Ian Jim Jim Joan Bill Juliet Pips Jo Neil Jo Eduardo Angela Helen Colette and Ann all turned up along with at least 10 children who played outside in the rain getting absolutely soaked and loving every minute of it. The photos are staying up at the cafe for the foreseeable future and it was great having both adults and children enjoying seeing themselves immortalised. Thanks DD for taking the photos on the night. And here's the full series: http://www.martindixon.org.uk/index.php/photography/a-day-in-the-life-of-flat-iron-square/

The Laundry Room

Dropped by the opening of "The Laundry Room" an exhibition by Richard Wentworth and Michael Marriott at http://balinhouseprojects.wordpress.com

Photographs are on display in the old laundry room - nailed to the wall - 

ONE DAY IN FLAT IRON SQUARE

ONE DAY IN FLAT IRON SQUARE, a photo by mdx on Flickr.

got the show on the wall

Got my photographs A303 - The Road West up yesterday. The space looked great - we had Bob and Christina's work in the corridor - Marion and my work on adjacent walls in one room and then Sarah and Sara's in the other room. There was plenty of room and it worked walking round the three spaces. A good crowd came along to the private view and I had some interesting conversations about why I did the series and things that it sparked off for people. Today Christina, Jens and myself sat in the gallery while people visited. A very different quality to the private view - much more peaceful and meditative.

The show www.re-cognition.org.uk is on until Tuesday

a musical interlude 01

It's like that – and that's the way it is – Huh!

"One Day in Flat Iron Square" exhibition

This afternoon hung the nine group shots and title from "One Day in Flat Iron Square" at Island Cafe. Will try and organise a low key party opening thing soon -

1 Flat Iron Square, Union Street, London SE1 0AB.



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people looking at photographs

on a first look through I was most struck by Strategies for Survival by Jennifer Kover - www.voiceofthegrain.com/Jennifer.php and the Residents by Dominic Harris www.voiceofthegrain.com/Dominic.php

I came back for the talk - "a panel conversation chaired by Dr. David Bate, course leader of MA photographic studies University of Westminster. Panel members include Dr Marco Bohr, photographer, academic and writer on visual culture and lecturer in Visual Communication at Loughborough University. Sophy Rickett, Artist and Senior Lecturer in Photography London College of Communication Dr Daniel Rubinstein, critical theorist, writer, photographic artist and programme leader for photography at London South Bank University, and Eti Wade, photographic artist and senior lecturer and head of the MA Photography at University of West London."

marco bohr blog - questions and queries - photography and digital communities - images old and new - recycled and appropriated - Doug Rickard and Michael Woolf (?) google street view

what is the work?

what is the photograph?

authorship - intention - production - interpretation

photographs as witness to - looking at the process that's set in motion

haptic photogra[hs - zooming iPad

gap between gallery and real life

frames and prints - who cares about them?

now the world is constructed from screens

we arre formed and produced by the technology

how where they produced? once the process was laid bare - now it's kept a digital secret

fetishising tragedy -

bring back the author

a process of making - gesture

the gallery as antidote to the storm of the internet

releasing the photograph from the burden of being visual

travellers of the network

knowledge vs information

slowness of the process

the voice of the grain

The Kiss

Rodin's The Kiss @ Turner Contemporary in Margate. A tedious use of gallery space from Tracy Emin. Mark Wallinger saves the day with an intriguing work showing a video stream of looking out to sea 24 hours ago –  he explains it better 

we got an exhibition - be great to see you there!

It's been a lot of work organising this show but it's finally coming together. The publicity's at the printers, the invites are going out and now it's just two weeks till we hang it and drink beer. And wine.
Coming from a musical background I get the idea of the event as gig, and yet it still feels strangely otherworldly when it's my own work going out there. Less in the moment and not as gritty - but interesting to create a space for people to come to, and look at stuff.

I Confess

Started on the Hitchcock box set from last Christmas with "I Confess". It dips half way through but the suspense alongside the slide toward the moral dilemma of the sanctity of the confessional tells a great story without a shot wasted.

the boy and the field

Titling photographs is a challenge. Striving with the collision of image and text to bring a new choice of meanings without loosing the singularity of either.

down up

A relentless practice of taking 2 photos every day throughout the school summer holidays, one up and one down, as near to midday as possible on the iPhone and then combining them into a diptych. Not too sure why, but once started it's hard to stop.