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smoge15 · 7 years

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(YES IT’S IN CAPITALS - BUT IT DOESN’T MEAN I’M SHOUTING THIS AT YOU - IT JUST LOOKS REGULAR AND COHESIVE IN A MUCH MORE PLEASING WAY THAN THE UP AND DOWN OF A NORMAL PARAGRAPH)

HOW CAN WE RECONNECT WITH PLACE IN 2017? I FEEL THERE ARE THINGS TO BE LEARNT AND FELT THAT CAN ONLY BE DUG UP BY PUTTING DOWN OUR BLUE-GLARING SCREENS AND CONNECTING WITH THE NOISES, THE COLOURS, THE FACES OF THE ENVIRONMENT WE HAVE FORGOTTEN WE ARE SURROUNDED BY.

SIMPLE ACTS THAT WE HAVE LOST IN THE SPEED OF CHANGE AROUND US SUCH AS WALKING, DRAWING, LOOKING, HEARING, BREATHING; ALL THINGS THAT COULD ENHANCE OUR EVERYDAY BUT WE DON’T MAKE TIME FOR ANYMORE, OR AREN’T TOLD TO MAKE TIME FOR, AS THEIR IS GENERALLY NO CAPITAL GAIN FROM WALKING, OR LISTENING, OR BREATHING.

A PLACE LIKE LONDON HAS ITS RHYTHMS AND BEATS, AND TO POTENTIALLY STEP OUTSIDE OF THESE RHYTHMS AND OBSERVE THE SPACES WHEN THEY ARE MOST VULNERABLE SEEMS LIKE AN INTERESTING OPPORTUNITY. WHEN IS LONDON AT ITS’ MOST PEACEFUL/COMPASSIONATE? NOT AT RUSH HOURS OR EVEN THROUGHOUT THE WORKING DAY? AT NIGHT PERHAPS?

AFTER LISTENING TO RUSSELL BRANDS’ LATEST ‘UNDER THE SKIN’ PODCAST, IN WHICH HE SPEAKS WITH BILLY B...

WE’VE BEEN TOLD TO FORMULATE THESE BLOG POSTS IN ORDER TO START CRYSTALISING AND CATALYSING THEMES AND IDEAS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY MORPH INTO A THICKER SOUP OF CONCEPTS AND EXPERIMENTS THAT END IN A DARK SPACE IN SHOREDITCH BEING AUGLED AT BY THOSE WHO AREN’T THE ONES WHO NEED OUR ATTENTION AS MUCH AS A LOT OF PEOPLE.

HOW DO YOU BEGIN TO PREPARE AN OPEN-BRIEFED THIRD YEAR DESIGN PROJECT, WHICH HAS TO PLEASE THOSE ABOVE YOU BY PRETENDING TO CONSIDER THOSE I’M AFRAID WE PERCEIVE AS BELOW US. IT’S A YEAR LONG GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE AND I’M NOT SURE WHO'S CHASING WHO.

I HAVE ONE YEAR AHEAD OF ME IN WHICH I’M EXPECTED TO DEMONSTRATE MY THINKING AS A DESIGNER IN WORDS AND SPACE, YET I STILL CAN’T DESCRIBE TO PEOPLE WHAT ‘DESIGN’ IS OR WHAT I LIKE TO DO AS A SO CALLED ‘DESIGNER’ WHICH LEAVES ME THINKING WHAT THE HELL IS NEXT YEAR GOING TO LOOK LIKE WHEN I’VE NOT EVEN GOT A DEFINITION FOR THE SUBJECT I’VE SPENT TWO YEARS IMMERSED IN? I GUESS THAT’S WHAT I WILL FIND OUT OVER THE YEAR. I KNOW WHAT I LIKE DOING, AND I KNOW WHAT I LIKE THINKING, BUT GETTING THOSE TWO THINGS TO MATE AND POP OUT SOME VERSION OF A BEING THAT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD WE HAVE LAID OUT IN FRONT OF US SEEMS ALMOST POINTLESS. HAVING SEEN THE SHOWS OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, NOT MANY TIMES HAS IT FELT LIKE YOU’RE LOOKING AT A YEARS VOLUME OF WORK. AND ALOT OF THE TIME IT’S FELT A CHALLENGE TO ACTUALLY TAKE AN INTEREST IN THE WORK THAT’S ON OFFER. WHETHER THAT IS THE ENVIRONMENT IT’S BEING OBSERVED IN OR THE PRESENTATION OF THE PIECES THEMSELVES I’M NOT SURE BUT I DON’T WANT MY YEAR TO BE COLD AND CALCULATED AND CLIMAXING IN A DARK 3X2 SPACE IN THE LAND OF SHOREDITCH. THAT’S NOT WHAT I HAVE IN MIND RIGHT NOW. MAYBE THE SHOW ISN’T A GREAT AMBITION TO SET YOURSELF UP FOR. THIS IS JUST ME THINKING OUT LOUD NOW.

ANYWAY, AS DASH HAS ASKED FOR ‘LOOSE THEMES AND TOPICS’, I’M GOING TO BULLET POINT THE ONES I CAME OUT WITH OVER THE LAST DAY OR SO, WHICH HAVE BEEN BUILDING IUP IN MY MIND OVER THE LAST YEAR OR SO BASED ON WHAT I’VE BEEN EXPOSED TO AND MY INNATE NATURE AND CURIOSITY. SO IT COULD HAVE LOOKED MANY WAYS BASED ON THOSE GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, BUT THIS IS HOW IT LOOKS RIGHT NOW:

- CURIOSITY CABINETS - OBJECTS AND FEELINGS BEYOND MONETARY VALUE

- IMAGINATION - REAWAKEN IT

- JAPAN - EASTERN PHILOSOPHY

- DRAWING - ENVIRONMENTAL ENGAGAMENT AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND COLLABORATION

- VAN - LIVING OFF-GRID AND SELF SUFFICIENCY AS A FORM OF ESCAPE

- PIRATES - WHY CAN’T I BE A PIRATE IN LONDON 2017? BUILD MYSELF A SHIP AND SAIL AWAY FROM ALL STATUTARY EXISTENCE - CAPTAIN HARLOCKS QUOTE: [WHICH I WILL FIND AFTER]

- MEMORY - AS I HAVE A SOMEWHAT BROKEN FORM OF MEMORY, I HAVE GREAT INTEREST IN UNDERSTANDING HOW MEMORY AFFECTS OUR PERCEPTION AND HOW, WITH SMALL ALTERATIONS, MEMORY CAN BECOME A POWERFUL TOOL OF EMANCIPATION -

- ALZHEIMERS/DEMENTIA

- OXFORD DOCTOR - TALK AT THE RCA

- THE AUTISTIC BRAIN

- PERSONAL QUESTIONS

- COLLABORATIVE CARTOONING - FRAME BY FRAME PARTICIPATION

- NOMADIC PRINTING STUDIO - SPACE FOR OPEN AND CRITICAL CREATING - CAN THIS DRIVE POLICY? A VAN THAT DRIVES POLICY?

- ALGORITHMS - HOW CAN WE UNDERSTAND THEM AND BECOME AWARE OF THEM ON A MASS LEVEL

- HUMAN RIGHTS

- CLIMATE CHANGE

- HUMANITARIAN ENGAGEMENT

- HOW DO WE OPEN PEOPLES EYES AND WAKE THEM UP FROM THEIR IPHONE INDUCED SLUMBERS? WHAT IS THEIR INCENTIVE IN TAKING PAR IN A CONVERSATION THAT THEY FEEL THEY DON’T NEED TO BLINK AN EYE AT CURRENTLY? HOW CAN WE GET PEOPLE CARING FOR EACH OTHER IN AN OPEN AND COMPASSIONATE SOCIETY? THAT IS THE CHALLENGE? HOW DO YOU DRIVE INDIVIDUALISM OUT AND REPLACE IT WITH ORGANISED COMAPSSION? WHERE CAN I BEGIN TO FIND ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS? BUDDHISM? PRISON?

- DRAWING FUTURES EVENT AT BARTLETT IN NOVEMBER - NEED TO READ THE BOOK AND DIGEST ANY POSSIBLE INSPIRING THOUGHTS THAT COME OUT OF THAT

- ‘WHATS GOING ON RIGHT NOW?’ AND ‘WHERE AM I AT RIGHT NOW?’

- VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY - RECENTLY DROPPED IPHONE LIFE FOR NOKIA 3310 LIFE AND THE TRUTH IS IT’S HARD TO REALISE HOW MUCH TIME YOU ARE SAVING AND WHAT EFFECT IT IS HAVING ON ME SUBCONSCIOUSLY WHEN I NOT CONSTANTLY TETHERED TO SOME FORM OF SOCIAL MEDIA OR NOTIFICATION SYSTEM THAT IS CONSTANTLY POKING ME FOR MY ATTENTION ADN WHICH SO MANY ARE SO HAPPY TO BE ADDICTED TO WITHOUT THEIR KNOWLEDGE. I’M GLAD I’VE CASTE MY NET ELSEWHERE EVEN FOR THIS SHORT WHILE BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH TO BE LEARNT ABOUT THE WORLD THAT CAN’T BE FOUND ON YOUR FACEBOOK FEED, AND PEOPLE NEED TO REALISE THIS BEFORE WE’RE ALL LAPPING OUT THE HANDS OF THE GROSSLY DATA-OBESE ZUCKERBURGER, WHO OPENLY SPEAKS ABOUT HIS BELIEF THAT PRIVACY IS A THING OF THE PAST, WHILST SPENDING MILLIONS ON HIS FAMILY'S VILLA IN X AND PURCHASING ALL THREE SURROUNDING VILLAS IN ORDER TO LIVE IN THE PRIVATE GROUNDS OF HIS MANIPULATIVE CONTRADICTION.

- FREEDOM AND LIBERTY IN THE DIGITAL AGE - MY DOTEVERYONE INTERNSHIP AND THE ARTICLES AND BOOKS I WAS EXPOSED TO DURING THAT TIME HAVE DEFINITELY LEFT A SIGNIFICANT STAMP ON MY THINKING, AND THOSE CHANGES YOU CAN’T ERASE ONCE YOU’VE LEARNT ABOUT THE LEVELS OF CORRUPTION AT STATE LEVELS, AND THE PUBLIC MANIPULATION THAT TAKES PLACE WHEN PERSONAL DATA IS EXCLUSIVELY OWNED BY THE PEOPLE WHO WISH TO EXPLOIT US FOR WHAT WE DON’T KNOW.

- PHOTOGRAPHY

- 1,200 PEOPLE DEAD IN MONSOON FLOODING IN INDIA/NEPAL/BANGLADESH - WHY DOES THAT FEEL LIKE IT’S HAPPENING IN AN ALTERNATE REALITY THAT DOESN’T REQUIRE OUR ATTENTION. SUCH LARGE DEVASTATION WARRANTS A GREATER AMOUNT OF ATTENTION, BUT I SUPPOSE WHAT WILL GREATER ATTENTION BRING FROM THIS SIDE OF THE WORLD - THE ONLY THINGS WE CAN CHANGE FROM HERE THAT EFFECT THERE ARE OUR HABITS, THE MONEY IN OUR WALLETS I.E. DONATING, AND I SUPPOSE BY TALKING ABOUT WHAT HAS CAUSED THOSE FLOODS, WHETHER IT BE NATURAL OR A SOMEWHAT MAN-MADE DISASTER IN PART DRIVEN BY ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES WE HAVE SEWN OURSELVES AND CONTINUE TO DO SO WITH OUR BLINKERS ON, IN OUR OWN ‘SAFE’ BUBBLE.

- ACTOR NETWORK THEORY - BASED ON THE SUCCESS OF OUR LAST PROJECT FROM SECOND YEAR - THE LEVELS OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND THE REWARD IN GIVING BACK TO THOSE WE WOULD NEVER HAD ORDINARILY KNOWN HOW TO HELP

- RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES - SOCIALISM AS ORGANISED COMPASSION - MARIXIST LANGUAGE AS DEAD AND OLD AND IN NEED OF UPDATING

- ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM ALTRUISM

- STORYTELLING - ILLUSTRATION/ANIMATION AND LINES THAT ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE BEYOND SURFACE LEVEL - INSPIRE IMAGINATION BEHIND PEOPLE’S EYES

- I COULD KEEP GOING BUT AT THIS POINT I FEEL I’VE GOTTEN ENOUGH OUT ONTO PAPER - THIS IS ALL VERY EARLY ON IN ANY FORMUALTION OF A THEORY OR AN ANGLE ON A PROBLEM, AND THERES LOADS I’VE LEFT OUT, BUT I HOPE TO DIVE FURTHER INTO SOME OF THESE TOPICS OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AND FILL SOME OUT AND WRITE UNDER DIFFERENT TITLES/CHARACTERS IN ORDER TO SQUEEZE OUT THE MOST REASONABLE WORDS IN THE MOST REASONABLE ORDER.

- GRENFELL TOWER

THAT’S MY LAST ONE.

I’VE NEVER BEEN ONE TO KEEP A DIARY OR REGULARLY WRITE, I’VE ALWAYS THOUGHT MY BRAIN DOESN’T PARTICULARLY WORK WELL IN LONG STROKES OF WORDS AND LETTERS, IT’S MORE LIKE SHORT SHARP BURSTS OF FEELINGS THAT I STRUGGLE TO TRANSLATE THROUGH TYPING AND EVEN TALKING MOST OF THE TIME. I’M AN INTERNAL TYPER, NOT PARTICULARLY AN EXTERNAL ONE. BUT IT’S PROBABLY A GOOD IDEA TO GET US TO DO THIS AS THINGS CRYSTALISE THAT MAY NOT HAVE EVER BEEN SCRATCHED BEFORE SO THIS IS ME GIVING IT A GO.

MY HOUSEMATE WHO STUDIES ENGLISH HAS BEEN WRITING AN HOUR A DAY AS AN EXPERIMENT AND SO I’M GOING TO TAKE A LEAF OUT OF HER BOOK AND SIT HERE FOR X AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS LEADING UP TO DAY 1 OF THIRD YEAR, EVEN THOUGH JIMMY SAID ‘HOW DOES THIRD YEAR FEEL’ IN JULY. HOPEFULLY IT SQUEEZES SOME OPINIONS AND IDEAS OUT OF MY GREY MATTER THAT I DIDN’T KNOW I HAD EVEN LOCKED AWAY UP THERE. ALOT OF THE TIME I DON’T KNOW WHAT GAMES IT’S PLAYING BUT HERE I’M REALLY EXPOSING HIM AND ACTUALLY GETTING HIM TO DO A LOT OF THE WORK FOR ME. SO I’LL TAKE A BACKSEAT AND JUST LET HIM GO FOR A BIT. ANYWAY I NEED TO RETURN TO THE BULLET POINTS ABOVE NOW SO BEAR WITH ME…

SO THIS HAS BEEN MY FIRST BLOG POST. IT HAS BEEN A TAD ALL OVER THE PLACE BUT THAT’S WHAT YOU GET FOR ASKING SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T NECESSARILY ENJOY THESE THINGS TO SIT DOWN AND DO SOMETHING HE DOESN’T NECESSARILY ENJOY. MAYBE THEY’LL GET BETTER. MAYBE THEY WON’T. MAYBE I WON’T WRITE ANYMORE. HOPEFULLY NOT BECAUSE I FEEL IT’S BEEN A GOOD EXERCISE FOR THE MIND AFTER A SUMMER OF THINKING AND DOING IN LOOSE PREPARATION FOR THIRD YEARS HEADLONG DIVE INTO CREATING SOMETHING REAL THAT REPRESENTS WHAT I AM ABOUT TO THE WORLD AND AIMS TO HELP THOSE I WANT TO HELP.

I’VE GOT SOME IDEAS FOR THEMED BLOGS SO I’LL DROP SOME OF THOSE IN OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS TOO, BUT FOR NOW THIS’LL DO.

OVER AND OUT.

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