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wishing you all merry christmas and a surreal new year ♡

today

cucumber water, brain storms, playing with visual contrast and book formation

Finding

this week I discovered paradise in South Wales.
35mm film.

~ Nicole

Distance

Recently  I've spent a lot of time wandering, a lot of time thinking (and not so much doing).  Getting lost, discovering, adventures and exploring ways of seeing and ways of living.  Conversations, debates and new landscapes.
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Two poignant events in the last month that have lingered in my mind were 'Democracy Sandwich' hosted by g39 in Cardiff which took place during Parliament Week. The event was an 'exploratory ramble though all things democratic [and not so democratic]'.  Artists, comedians and activists were invited to share their opinions, knowledge on thoughts on the importance of freedom and equality in democracy today.


Sara Rees
Sited in one of the now ubiquitous empty shops symptomatic of the Global Financial Crisis, the work explores the ideological basis to the current crisis and the threat to democracy posed by global corporate capitalism. Democracy originated in Ancient Greece and its agoras; open public spaces that were both market place and the place of assembly - the site of both commerce and politics. In DEMOCRACY, Rees supplants consumer space with a discursive space, in which she invites us to engage and reflect on the nature of consumer culture, democracy, our cities and the future.

Images of iconic historical people who have helped shaped the world's current democracy were pinned onto boards and people were invited to use the faces as masks.  Literal sandwiches were made and used as a metaphor for the public's opinions on the state of current democracy. The room was quickly filled with inside out sandwiches, plates scattered with individual components, mixtures of pickles and chocolate spread or simply a lonely (yet bold?) apple.

"The value of democracy is one of the central articles of faith of our society. Yet in complex societies like ours, the power to determine our own fate may often seem beyond our grasp – except when we go to the ballot box, and even then we find ourselves asking whether the choice we have in front of us is a real one."

--Cardiff Philosophy Cafe Blog

The conversation began conclusion by bringing the issue to a local sense - in particular a recent incident in Newport, where the council demolished a mural depicting the 1839 Chartist uprising. The local public were furious that they only discovered the plans on the day of the demolition - this highlighted the need for respect, and the question of problem with communication and importance of rights.

After a lengthy debate which involved, Russel Brand's recent call for a revolution, the contrast of happiness and satisfaction in less Westernised countries compared to the UK, and what changes do we want/need in order to be more content with our society; a conclusion stalled at "we have a democracy, it's not perfect but it's the best idea we've produced to date." The first step in moving forward is clarification and understanding?

~ Nicole