This is a question I am always mentally stewing over. Instagram is the image sharing platform of our time. It has democratised sharing photographs like nothing before and is available for anyone with internet access to share pictures. That’s huge. As artists flocked to Instagram in it’s early days we found ways to speak to others who enjoyed seeing our output. Sharing content didn’t require much thought and we found online communities and an engaged audience. It was fun.
However, as Instagram grew it changed its user experience design significantly and monetised itself. It started to become increasingly addictive with features that played on people’s insecurities and as more people joined, we became bombarded with digital noise that we not only heard, but that we contributed to. Now, in 2021, Instagram has 1.22 billion users (Statista, State of Digital 2021) and we have become accustomed to an endless trickle of digital comparison as normal life. But the tide is shifting. More people are starting to talk extensively about the ways in which this app is damaging us as a society, how it’s creating a mental health crisis and scraping away at our cognitive ability to concentrate.
Read MoreThose who are reading this blog are going to be well aware of the glistening lure of Instagram. You probably found this post through this channel where I promoted it. An irony that feels cliche to address but whatever, it’s true and it’s ironic.
Whether we like it or not, we are a generation that are grossly addicted.
Despite the extensive ethical critique that tech giants are facing and the horror of the Black Mirror-esque Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, social media is here to stay; entrenched into the fabric of our very existence. For many, this tailor made curated realm forms a credible representative of the self. When people meet us we introduce ourselves and it is likely we then introduce them to our IG handle. You can find “me” here.
It is a digital world that in the current “lockdown” can even supersede physical reality. The lines between both have become blurred to the point that for many, social media platforms are an extension of, and not separate to, real life. And with most of us oscillating between sharing and not sharing, and caring and not caring, the navigation of this world is complicated.
Read MoreI was very tempted to write a blog post at the start of lockdown. At this point, in a heightened state of survival, facing what felt like impending global doom, writing a piece on how I intended to tackle this ”unprecedented” period through art seemed like a sensible, grounding way to process the gloop swimming in my mind.
But something in me hesitated. The weeks lying ahead were going to be some of the most unknown and restricted times our society has collectively faced. Much was TBC. Instead I decided to write something as the lockdown ended.
Read MoreMost art that I enjoy you have to look, look again, and probably look once again at to get under the skin of. The fleeting joy of translating the literal comes and goes but the satisfaction of unpicking the less obvious and the unexpected, stays. When upon closer inspection we discover something new, there is a little more satisfaction to be taken from the act of looking. Art can give us something deeper to think about.
Read MoreThis is a long blog post. It is a review of the year gone by with some overlap from previous posts, and, like most of my other ones, is ultimately a reflective piece on what I have learned through this experience.
Read MoreThere is something transformative about music. It can take you from A to B from B to C to Z and back to A. One note, one lyric, one simple melody has all the power within it to change your entire vibration.
Read MoreNoun
“the state of being prepared; readiness.”
When looking back at the road that led to now, it’s quite amazing how tiny decisions or actions from the past are critical in sparking pivotal events later down the line.
Small moments connect and escalate. Sometimes the escalation point is triggered by a series of destructive behaviours or carelessness that lead to a downfall, a loss or even a tragedy. Other times they are the good habits and smart decisions within the everyday that escalate to achievement or better still, a chance to be more of the best part of who you are in the future.
Read MoreMoving through life we face forks in the road. It might be which path to take or it might be how to take the path you’ve set your heart on. Sometimes it’s something pretty small e.g how do I edit my photos better? And sometimes the question is bigger e.g make and sell small prints or develop larger paintings? Buy the flight ticket or save the money (an eternal struggle!)
As a self confessed over-thinker, I always have questions. Over the years, I have found reading a lot and watching stuff on personal development very useful in helping to figure things out. There is much to be learnt from the journeys and advice of others.
Read MoreMany times there have been moments in life, little ones, where suddenly a realisation would set in, a little whisper in the mind, reminding me gently that “this will not always be”.
That realisation has always been during simple, happy times in life. Sometimes it’s during the big occasions - holidays, celebrations, etc, but more often than not, it’s during the small, everyday happenings. It’s like nostalgia, but in the present moment. These moments only really become significant, once they’re gone.
Read MoreI’ve found that this year the biggest change has been within. I feel a little wiser (maybe that’s what turning thirty does) and yet more than ever I realise how little I know. I look back at my past experiences and feel foolish about mistakes I made or the frivolity with which I made certain decisions. I’m hyper aware that everything we do today sets the tone for tomorrow.
2018 has been challenging; emotionally, professionally, spiritually, artistically and existentially.
So, as the year comes to a close it felt right to make my final 2018 blog post about some lessons that hit home this year. There have been many though, my goodness, so this list is only a few.
Read MoreIt’s cold and it’s dark. The shortest day of the year is fast approaching and the lack of light is becoming more apparent with each day as we move through December. Everyone seems to have gotten ill or has an aura of run-down-ness and I’m currently writing this from my room, on my bed, sneezing every few minutes.
Read More“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”
Read MoreYou know, quality isn’t always the main goal. First there should be volume. We can define volume as time spent, output or action. Quality inevitably follows. In fact, quality is a by-product of volume.
Read MoreIn life, or as much of life that I understand at the moment, there come significant turning points.
These are few and far between. Nearly always, they feel like destruction. Nearly always, they rip out elements in our lives that felt foundational. The rug is pulled out from under us. We are no longer standing stable. I like to call them “life reboots”. The computer has broken down. It needs to be reset to factory settings. This is the only way to save it. This is the only way the universe can save you.
These times hit us hard because we know that life will never be the same again. In these moments we become acutely aware of how significant the insignificant things were.
Read MoreSince leaving my Monday to Friday, 9-5 media agency lifestyle, I’ve had to let go of the stability, both financially and in terms of routine, that came with it. I am using some of my savings to move into this new life which has been a calculated risk I decided I just had to take for once and for all.
This has been disorientating and liberating. Adjusting to a new way is taking time and time itself has been as elusive as always. I feel a sense of freedom I have never felt before. However, as is with life, there are restrictions framing the situation I am currently occupying.
Read MoreOver the years I have worked on many commissioned pieces. The side hustle started at uni where I would make drawings and paintings for friends to distract myself from the mind-numbingly dry academic textbooks I had to decipher. These days I get contacted via various platforms to work on pieces for a new home, to give as a gift or as a bespoke memento to mark a significant event.
Read MoreOver the past few months I’ve been experimenting with what I like to call Low Risk Creation. By this I mean allowing myself to mess around with paints and spend my time making whatever I want with no real agenda. Creating because it is simply an enjoyable way to spend my time. Who knows what can come from it.
Read More“The point in time or space at which something begins”
Life is a cycle of endings and beginnings. Every morning the sun rises and a new start is signalled by the darkness transforming into lightness.
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