A Surgery Of Quiet Ideas Presents:

Friendly Reminders & Silent Stories

From The Fast-Paced Space Age

Of The Techno Junkies

 1 - 15 September

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Big shout out & love to all who made it out to ICE Gallery on the opening night.  Thanks for the great conversations & sharing of ideas...

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This body of work attempts to deal with Paul Gauguin's questions "Where Do We Come From? What Are We?  Where Are We Going?" from his 1897 painting titled with the same words.  The exhibit looks at elements of our online-obsessed, time-stressed throwaway consumer culture and gives some simple reminders for how to slow down and reconnect with being human on a planet that is alive and in desperate need of our attention.  

Paint/mixed media

JUST WHEN I WAS STARTING TO LIKE IT HERE
(EVOLUTION EVERY SECOND EVERYWHERE)
acrylic on superwood
400mm x 300mm

DIGITAL FRIGHT MARKETEER WORKS
THE CITY OF THE BLIND
acrylic on superwood
400mm x 300mm

SNOW ON THE TV
acrylic on canvas
355mm x 280mm

ONE'S 

oil, acrylic & die on canvas

250mm x 205mm

ZERO'S
oil, acrylic & dice on superwood
250mm x 205mm

A PLASTIC PERSON CONSULTS TIME
acrylic on canvas
760mm x 610mm

BORDERLINE: WALKING THE BOUNDARY LANDS
ON THE EDGE OF EXISTENCE, AT
THE FRONTLINES OF CREATION
acrylic on superwood
600mm x 400mm




I LIKE BEING (THE AEONS SURGE THROUGH ME)
acrylic on superwood
600mm x 400mm

DISTRACTION
oil on canvas
200mm x 200mm




THE FLIES ARE MY FRIENDS FOR
THEY SHOW ME MY ANGER
oil on canvas
200mm x 200mm

EXPECTATION (WE UNDERESTIMATE OURSELVES)
oil on canvas
200mm x 200mm

LIVE TAKE-OVER OF THE SPOILT-FOR-CHOICE
ICONS DESIGN DEPARTMENT
acrylic on canvas
200mm x 200mm

EXPENSIVE SILENCE
acrylic on superwood
600mm x 400mm

THE SPRITES OF THE LIGHTNING (HOLD ON
TO YOUR IMAGINATION)
acrylic & collected objects
400mm x 390mm

(detail)

FOR FREE, FOR YOU & ME,
ANY TIME, ANYWHERE, IN
HIGH DEFINITION 3D
acrylic, graphite & linseed oil on canvas
200mm x 200mm

AWAKEN

oil & acrylic on canvas

1,800mm x 400mm

(detail)

PRECIOUS PARCHMENTS

pen & pencil on card, acrylic & graphite on superwood

6 X 200mm x 150mm

(detail)

I WONDER WHAT MY NEXT THOUGHT WILL BE

acrylic on superwood

600mm x 400mm

FRIEND REQUEST

vinyl on mirror

380mm x 380mm

NEW FRIEND FOR THE WORLD

acrylic on canvas on board

1,007mm x 720mm

I AM ALIVE, HOW ABOUT YOU?

oil & acrylic on canvas

200mm x 200mm

A PLASTIC PERSON PANICS

acrylic on canvas

760mm x 380mm

BE NO ONE'S HERO EXCEPT YOUR OWN

acrylic on superwood

400mm x 300mm

THE WORLD IS ON HOLIDAY.

PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER

acrylic on superwood

400mm x 300mm

(detail)

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DRAWING

MEMORIES OF PRE-HISTORY
charcoal on paper
A0

EXPENSIVE SILENCE II
ink on paper
A3

THEY LOOK UP TO US & OUT TO THE WORLD
pencil on paper
A3

YES, I KNOW...
pencil on paper
A3

MIXED MESSAGES
pen on paper
A3

A PLASTIC PERSON REMOVES THE BLINDFOLD
ink on paper
A3

IT HELPS TO MAKE LISTS
graphite & charcoal on paper
A3

A SURGERY OF QUIET IDEAS
pencil on paper
A3

PINE PLANKS PEOPLE
pen on paper
A3

CLIMB. SIT. WAIT. WATCH
pen on paper
A3

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Symptoms of God

Three six nine this tiny existence of mine

Inconsequential and insignificant insofar as

The Drama of Rama, Lord of Time,

Might define a decent life of a human kind

Illuminium cascade

Too much sugar breaks brain wave

Doomed to death from birth

All the fit and the fickle and paralysed

Lame and unheard loud and

Voiceless children of birds

You can throw against the titan tide

What are we?

Flowers standing up in the sun

Wilting in the nuclear glory of eternity

Ants picking up thrice our capacity

To try and enjoy a minute of gargantuan living

Possibility

Hilarious.

Survival mode makes people greedy and

Hell-bent on exclusivity

It’s all about who you don’t know and

What you don’t know about them

Well, they’re here!

And

She’s here

And

This is not supposed to be allowed

(But I’m free, remember?

The feeling of the scraping, digging sound of

The quill set loose

With back turned and enough fire

All at once is awful

A week of insane birth

Taking the opportunity presented to

Get out.  Lines arranged one after the other

Are not always necessary

Especially

If you abide by the bubble.

Herbal trouble and mirth,

Where did all the talent go?

Seem to have left them all behind me.

Trouble indeed.)

Escape from the something sometimes all too familiar

I’ll show you

Later

Watching the discomfort, levels of lying low,

Retracting, allowing the flow,

Relinquishing a control that was never

Mine alone.

Start stuff without wasting space; poking out

A grain of rice from its chosen place

Between the kitchen floorboards;

Relighting my cigarette in the sea wind;

Waving to the holiday-makers descending on my scene:

Some very real fears.

Quiet and industrious scattered experience and

Coffee breaks of, how do you say,

Actually, darling, right now I don’t want you

Anywhere near me...

Pray

For Karma to stay away

It’s really good to meet people out of their

Contexts

Punctuated equilibrium, sleeping with

A bloody amateur

My muse for all those sometimes dark thoughts

That need be thunk

Sun through the clouds,

At the least its form may now be perceived

Missing out

Well go on then, get out of my life!

Searching for metaphor

So the truth will not blind nor be found

Shit the shit that need be shat out

Sound the sound

Snow On The TV

This is verse meant to appear in a drawing using the rethink-reuse-recycle logo but with the arrows making the shape of a heart instead of the industrial triangle we are all used to seeing on packaging.  The words would be inside the arrows, and the flow of the arrows would create a kind of mandala.  I would title this drawing 'Mandala For Dematerialization (Apologies to Mother Earth)'.  It's all these words that describe all this bullshit kicking down in the world of Man, but within the text there are good things that can be recycled.  And I have always used a page here and there, on average once a month or so, to let out all the shit that has been building up.  I always title the page 'Recycle Bin' as though this were my page to throw rubbish away.  So I've changed this piece to be another recycle bin.

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RECYCLE BIN (APOLOGIES TO MOTHER EARTH)

Plastic people

U & me                                  

Did we                                   

Blind & boring                     

Choose to be

     

Reveal the key

To restoration

Of harmony

For steadily

The tide rises

If we want to 

Survive this

Examination

Of human legacy

Need be faced

And quickly

So, let us see –

                               

External projection of
Misunderstood internal

Enemy,

Civilizing brutalization,

Colonialization,

Predatory appropriation

Of Aboriginal territory,

Incarceration &

Intimidation of femininity,

Eradication of the meaning

Of Dreaming teaching,

Obliteration of old world

Mystery

Allows acceleration

Of devastation,

Wanton copulation,

Overpopulation,

Deforestation,

Genetic modification

Without long-term observation,                                                                        But ugh

Ruination,                                                                                                                Too weary

Extermination &                                                                                                        Too weary ugh

Annihilation of                                                                                                              Take no heed

Our brothers, the animals:                                                                                     Too scary

The actions of cannibals;                                                                                      Too dreary

Original disregard                                                                                             Very contrary

For future generation                                                                                       Snow on the TV

Means isolation &

Disintegration of community;

Alienation;

Disconnection

From Planet Earth

Home station

Misdirection of energy

Mass mind manipulation

Thievery corporations’

Co-optation, monopolization

& Privatisation of

Communication &

Technology,

Criminalization of free

Sharing of information,

Indoctrination,

Miseducation;

Objectification,

Commercialization                                                           

& Commoditisation of

Identity;

Categorisation, segregation,

Marginalisation of

Unfavourability,

Relegation to
Psychic insanity
All the unwanted,

Hysterical sticky 
Elements of society 

Consumption

Of televised pacification,

Dissemination of

Stupidification,

Fascination with

Wealth accumulation,

Over-stimulation, then

Censoring of expression;

Medication

Medication – a Pill

For any sensation,

Deprivation of 

Self exploration 
&Procrastination                                                                                              

Of realisation;

Money and money                                                                               But Ugh

Taxation and then more,                                                                     Too scary

A them ‘n us philosophy                                                                       Too dreary

For justification of war,                                                                           Too time-weary

Weapons, the honey                                                                                     Force-feed

Of patrionationalisation;                                                                         No feeling

Gross capitalisation                                                                              No need

& Americanisation of                                                                          To take heed

All life stylization;                                                                              Life’s too slow

Ego glorification,                                                                                  Give me give me

Starvation of imagination                                                                      Give me, but

                                                                                                                        Nothing’s for free 

Wild life on Nat Geo                                                                                Life is snow on the TV

 in 3D HD                                                                                                   Safe, stable

Very contrary                                                                                          Nervous system

Duality in binary                                                                                   Security,

Controlling, interfering                                                                     Static electricity

Self-appointed masters

Of creation;

Dehumanisation,

Slave nation

And when the chaos comes

Will you turn your face in shame,

Bury deeper into the everyday

Or break the pattern of ignorance,

Embrace the change,

Look into the mirror,

Behold the horror

And not look away?