I/We Art

Finding Joy at Pistyll Rhaeadr

.This work “Finding joy at Pistyll Rhaeadr” seeks to place you in the image to experience the scene as though you were there. The joy is that this person has found a solution to the opposing forces shown on each side of the image. ( This idea is similar to the Green World approach described below in the Arnolfini series of images). The technigue of placing a "back-figure" in the image was used by Caspar David Friedrich and is termed Rückenfigur.

The Singularity

The Singularity represents the moment computers reach a kind of consciousness. This moment is now very close with predictions that it will be reached by 2029. The idea for the image comes from Sabina Spielrein's work where she often used the example of the sea to explain the unconscious which is below the surface and the conscious above the surface.

The Balcony Series

This image from the Balcony series was inspired by Gustave Caillebotte work “Interior, Woman at the Window” 1880 which shows a man reading a newspaper and a woman at the window. What Caillebotte achieves in this image is to create a sense of isolation between the figures. In the work shown here the sense of isolation between the figures is extended to the scene beyond the balcony of a woodland wildfire.

The Arnolfini Revisited: The Clock

Jan van Eyck's The Arnolfini (1434) shows a man and woman in a room full of symbols and wealth. The wealth is shown by the furnishing and clothes. The woman is next to the bed symbolising domestic duties, the homemaker. The man is next to the window, the public realm of power and status.

In the revisited version wealth is no longer present and the mirror has been replaced by a clock. The Clock is the Doomsday Clock, which in the event that it reaches 12 o’clock midnight, signals irreversible global destruction, the end of everything. The minute hand of the Clock has been removed to conceal how close to midnight things really are. The female and male places have been reversed. She (the woman in green) is not just standing by the window she now holds the window frame that looks out on the public realm. It is this realm symbolised by the frame that has defined a version of reality that has brought about the possibility of global destruction. The single bar suggests she is still held within her gender sphere and cannot fully enter the public realm.

The woman in green has taken the frame to a woodland. The reason for doing so follows “Green World” literature. This literature suggests that places such as woodland can offer a magical setting allowing an escape from societal rules which can be transformative, offering insight into how conflicts can be resolved.

The woman in green is therefore using this space to release herself from the current order symbolised by the frame. In doing so she aims to redefine the version of reality held by the frame into a solution for moving the clock away from midnight and setting the social world on a path out of chaos. (Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a famous example of Green World literature.)

The Arnolfini Revisited: Green World

The woman in green has now returned to the social world. She no longer holds the frame and is not constrained by the views it represents. She wishes to share her new sense of self. She does this by replacing the billboards with stark images of woodland scenes. These represent a kind of social sculpture following the work of Joseph Beuys. The aim of doing this is to share with others the magic and joy she experienced in realising her new sense of self. This sense of self, she feels, can challenge the chaos symbolised by the Clock. She points to a reflection of the woodland scene and by doing so invites the audience to immerse themselves in art and embrace creativity. In the words of Amie McNee "Creativity is our power to enact change."

The Arnolfini Revisited: Sharing Joy in the Social World

The Clock 1960’s

The Opart centre of this image seeks to draw the viewer into the image as if you were being taken into the inner space of oneself. At the centre is an area created using an audio-visual scanner which again seeks to show the inner space within us or our collective unconscious. In this space is a clock and an area-coloured red. The Clock is the Doomsday Clock, which if it reaches 12 o’clock midnight, signals irreversible global destruction, the end of everything. In the 1960’s the average was 9.5 mins to midnight. The red area symbolises levels of unrest which in the 1960’s is widely regarded as very high through being an extremely turbulent decade for social change and political violence. The size of the Clock represents the extent of public concern about the possibility of global destruction. In short how concerned are we about what the Clock is telling us. For the 60’s this was high following the Cuban Missile Crisis and the realisation that there was a real possibility of nuclear war. It was only much later that information became available on just how close the world had come to nuclear war. Crimson Tide (1995) loosely describes the 1962 incident involving a Soviet submarine, rather than a U.S. submarine where the captain was ready to release nuclear missiles and it was only through the action of the second in command that stopped the release and prevented nuclear war.

The Clock 1990’s

In 1991 the Clock saw its highest move away from midnight to 17 minutes to midnight. The average for the decade was 10 minutes to midnight. In relation to social unrest this decade is generally considered a period of relative stability but with localised conflict following the end of the Cold War. The size of the Clock is also reduced with the increasingly held belief that the ending of the Cold War would greatly reduce the possibility of nuclear war.

In the 2020’s the Clock has seen an unprecedented move towards midnight and is now at 85 seconds to midnight. Social unrest has returned to similar if not higher levels seen in the 1960’s. The size of the Clock is also approaching a similar size to the 1960’s with public concern over previous threats such as nuclear war but also a new threat of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and also growing awareness of the impact of climate change. The Clock is still, I would suggest, less prominent than in the 60’s. However, these threats, particularly AI, is beginning to be instilled into us through all forms of media and the lived experience. How we visualise the world will increasingly become seen through this unrest, rapid change and concern over increased global conflict. To deal with these threats the individual (the “I”) will look to social fields ( See about section for discussion of social fields) to offer solutions. The following works “The Arnolfini Revisited” offers an example of how someone might find a sense of self in period of social chaos and unrest.

The Clock 2020's

The Wonderland Video Series

The wonderland video series seeks to show the magical quality of woodland.