The great Dr Lee

Topo much to say here right now, about how great this man is, but needles to say anyone with a doctorate in graffiti and youth culture is pretty ok in my books. Here's how the man drops science...



Nicholas Hersey
Synaesthesia


Sofia Coppola’s 1993 Lost in Translation, is a story of alienation in a foreign country and is the story of an attempt by Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and a lone female, Charlotte (Scarlett Johansen) to find for a short moment, a kind of transcendent coherence within a foreign cultural space that has left them both losing their grip on the local reality. Synaesthesia is about the translation of one sensory form into another, but it is also about creation because in translation one register is always incapable of exhausting or even managing to communicate that of another. There is always the creation of something else, a kind of third space where another meaning appears.

Malcolm McLaren knew about this too with the creation of Punk. The bringing together of domestic icons into a new context manifested a new countercultural meaning, this was a new space created, not out of nothing, but of the myriad of cultural baggage swimming in our own heads.

Hersey explores this third space. Using a range of images– some edgy, some ambiguous, some personal– he creates a palette of ‘imagery for redeployment’. These images created over a period of time are both Hersey’s own images and monikers for our own.

Whiling one’s way through the forty images one finds each one striking a chord to a greater or lesser degree, begging the viewer’s own desire for order, coherence and meaning. This is a primordial moment, a deep-seated desire for order amongst chaos, searching for the gestalt, the synchrony, the moment where it all gels. This is the essential human conundrum: to find meaning in the chaos of the everyday.

In the work, the viewer’s own selection of images does not leave them alone. Instead the viewer is unnerved by them, the way their patterns interfere and the way comfortable combinations become uncomfortable as the third space, new messages in this moment of bricolage miraculously appear.

Hersey’s images catch us unawares. They seduce us into liking and disliking things we don’t quite understand, naturally we romp through the images imposing order on them, and magically and unexpectedly we are revealed.



Dr. Andrew Lee

still at it

...a few days to go to the opening of the new show, and im still scratchin away! Bought some nice big sheets of aluminium dibond coupla days ago, and spent this evening arousing some textures, then tickling in some imagery that should arouse suspicion and confusion. Having been lucky enough to have a press release written for me by the amazing Dr Andrew Lee, I have been inspired to complete some larger format pieces to complement the smaller ones already set for the show. You can read his release later, as I havent got it to hand right now :(

Anyway, from pseudo biblical references to girls holding kittens, all the allegorical imagery is in there, hopefully proving some more 'transcendent coherence' as Dr Lee puts it. Will upload pics soon!

work in progress

Have been feverishly slapping out the turps for the new show- transformed the dining table into a makeshift studio while we unpack the spare room still... things are going ok, just need to buy some more materials and crack on with the 30 squares. Kelly and I came up with some great ideas for the stickers and painted installation elements today, more on that soon...

a quick douche

Not quite working for my latest painting, so I threw it in the shower on hot for 5 mins and gave it a quick rub down. seems to have done the trick...

glimpse

work for new series- contextual works... a modular painting that you mix and match made of 30 pieces...

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmp5NDUJmfJ7DMDnQkLLOjwvz-BGostT01MRoTNjprchwKbifOe_LgDw1idSrjY6V2NtFmqWdkaxEHRiVs9NgpeZm6C8Rff-hWQ4a_lrDMgErxAXgq0cpkv4Av-DGcIOlAaNDDDwlL61mN/s1600-h/IMG_8228.jpg">
and one more for the punx

An average night

...Kelly and I just put the kids to bed, dog is wandering around chewing random stuff while she waits for an evening trundle, tv on showing the budget, jeering fat old men who are out of touch listening to another fatcat man about numbers that sound like they are from star trek. What will Matilda be listening to when she hears a budget in similar situations- berquillions, noodle-illions?

Meanwhile I am eager to get back to painting tomorrow, as a week has gone passed and I have half a painting to show for it... have earned myself another weeks salary from school,and have been on to Joe about building the ramp at the gallery, but I still have 39 pictures to paint, 5 watercolours, a whole set of stickers and some signs. Maybe t shirts too... I should pop over to the gallery to see Thomas, ease his mind as to my progress, get some feedback, get inspired.

Then crack on, I guess, and get over to collect the kids from school.

May take a load of photos of the fake phones available at the phone market- snoy erikson, iPhone air, nokio, molarota- they are all there- their beautiful!

...

old school

bought iggy and myself new boards this weekend. Iggy has a fetching Ben Wei mini, I have some unbranded indy thing.

Work update

Thing are about to get pretty busy. Following discussions with Thomas (owner at the gallery) I am to take over a large part of the gallery for the next show, as a sort of Nick Hersey Room one off special. Its kind of a solo show for me, though there will of course be all the other Island6 artists exhibiting in the next room. I have a large space to fill and free licence (within reason) to adress the theme of 'synesthesia' (see press release elsewhere!). To this end Im planning on building a mini-ramp at the gallery, hiring some skaters, commissioning the punks to come and play and getting my stencils and spraycans out, as well as badges, stickers and posters. All this on top of a series of paintings (around 30 I hope) on a small scale and on a variety of media- wood, metal, perspex, childrens bedsheets etc etc.

As soon as I have any work to show, or more details, you'll be the first to know I promise!

New Projects

Selling art and belonging to a gallery is all very well, but when all the dust and bank notes settle, and the parties are over, what remains of the artist and his legacy? In a dramatic turn from my usual meager self image, and in an attempt to market myself better, I am convinced that I need togo donw in history, and not just exist in this lifetime. After all, after all this investment by my wife, my family, and my own pathetic efforts, what is to remain>? Its certainly not very Zen, not very humble, but as I said its time I marketed myself better after all my family and supporters have done.

So I have decided to artifically manufacture an art movement- to precipitate a group of creatives and to document their activities- to engineer a media frenzy and falsify a hysteria around a collective and body of work, that may or may not exist. After much deliberation, and some decision making that is still ongoing, I have settled on the catchy moniker of 'The Sidcup Discount Arts Club'. It sums up everything I believe in... the end of over-commercialisation in contemporary creativity, a harkening back to my geographical roots, a loose and fun movement that does not take itself, or anyone else, too seriously- after all... nothing is more appealing to me than and representative of me than iconoclastic laughter (and maybe therelies the zen!

So behold,

A slew of logo making, and delicious pointless branding. Much like Hersoid previously, this will absorb much of my time and in all likelihood amount to nothing. But its terrifi fun, and a good laugh. Which is all there is in this world anywya really is there not.

'There is holy laughter...' 'Then there is merely silence, and a finger pointing the way' Zen Flesh, Zen Bones.

ACAMIS Beijing arts workshop

Should have put these up ages ago. good fun ot do, students got a lot out of it... as did I...

Out of touch

LAck of updates as life has taken over. Plans and strategies are now being put in place to rectify this. All that marketing rubbish about working smarter not harder. I am refraining from swearing too as I think some of my students now read this blog, along with Auntie June.

Worked last night djing at a party for some french bloke. I was doing it alone but it was interesting keeping the music going for 5 hours on my own- thats quite a set. Ended up playing clash and communards pop trash to get the lazy french off their arses but it was short lived so I went back to playing gritty electro mash like DC recordings just cos I liked the sound of it on a loud system.

Teaching getting right in the way of the art at the mo, so Im going to set up a studio at school to allow some creativity between lessons, like maltesers between meals... just want to crank out some drawings as Im a bit bored of heavy oils of kids, and I need to get my productivity up.

Have a few projects on the go, some signage style stuff and a fake profile of and imaginary art group. also setting up the Sidcup Discount Arts Group- an art movement based nowhere near sidcup and not commercially viable in any way so no reason to call it discount really. done a great logo for it...

Postcard from xi'an

especially happy with the print quality of this postcard :)

Xi'an postcard

Just spent the weekend in Xian. Main purpose for visiting this town is usually the exposed and highly exploited excavation site of the now famous 'terracotta warriors'. however, these proved to be far less stimulating or engaging than the general life of the city, with its muslim quarter, arts district and chinese style mosques. The culinary treats and street cuisine on offer were worthy of my postcard series in themselves, as you can see...

A gift of a word for you, my fans

pherunch

Bootleg Poster for the Big Party

More mayhem for us all, this saturday, at the studio. Even my Dad is getting his Van Gogh outfit sorted...