‘I’m Avin’ It Large, Mate’

“I’m Avin’ It Large, Mate”. July 2007.
The Overdose Sessions are part of the ‘Death’ manifesto node.
I have to say I felt sorry for the two forgotten rats that I stumbled upon in the rave shed, long dead by natural means, and in the slow process of being recycled by Mother Nature. So I thought I’d immortalise them on digital format.
Several days afterwards, my black and white images of these sad, dead creatures for the ‘death’ manifesto node (like the dying flies I have previously recorded) reminded me a little bit of David Lynch’s dead animal that Henry gets caught up in, in an out-take from Eraserhead. Or Nine Inch Nails’ reverse-decomposing of a fox (recomposing?) in the Hurt live music video. Or, indeed, the Buñuel/Dali dead deer on a piano in Un chien d’andalou. Just laying there, silent and motionless, yet saying so much.

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‘The Fascism of Youth’

“The Fascism of Youth”. July 2007. Part of the ‘Violence & Intimidation’ Manifesto node.
Discarded Nitrous Oxide bottles arranged on smashed glass in the farm shed around 10 hours after the rave disbanded. Also, in the top right of the work, incorporating a still of footage from the actual village rave found on youtube, and several shots of the ‘geez’ who helped organise the all-nighter among the dead rats and deadheads. His ‘sense of fashion’ is clearly only overshadowed by his taste in music.
The Chav Culture as Third Reich?
  • Burberry & Adidas outfits vs. Nazi uniforms.
  • Nike ‘Just Do It’ tick logo as German Eagle emblem.
  • Both nurture Dictators/Icons of culture (Michael Carrol vs. Himmler)
  • Individuality and individual thought crushed, peer pressure as goose-stepping.
  • Pitbulls on rope versus Alsatians on chains.
  • The intimidation and physical violence against people of ‘difference’.
  • Illegal raves supporting mindless unity as much as party rallies in Nuremberg.
  • Bombastic music as important support for cultures; “DJ Damon” vs. Wagner.
  • Positive influence on society? both nil points.
I could go on…
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‘His Willingness to Conform (in Denial)’

“His Willingness to Conform (in Denial)”. July 2007. Part of the ‘Violence & Intimidation’ Manifesto node.

An array of used laughing gas bottles found by the artist in the area of the rave the day after the night before, and manipulated on-site to portray an anti-fascist sentiment on a canvas of smashed glass, a sentiment which extends to the mainstream conformity of the young under the false guise of an anti-establishment movement.

How can illegal raves (or rave culture as a general concept) be bloomin’ “anti-establishment”, when the kids have already conformed to a mainstream, Burberry/Beatnik-draped Adidas youth culture that promotes simply getting out of your head in brand-name sports gear, as opposed to getting out of your safety zone and sticking your neck out for what you believe in? Come on people. You must try harder.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for a certain self-induced brain obliteration every now and then, but its never been the be-all and end-all purpose of my own wretched existence.

Taking a cursory look at a few Myspace accounts of these ‘raverz’ clearly “avin’ it large” you can’t help but think that there’s no all-conquering political/moral direction of outrage left (that punk or ska/reggae provided, for instance), just miserable apathy and selfish, bloated decadence. Worse. Miserable apathy with a whipped cream canister up yer nose.

Oh, and if they wanted to listen to extreme electronic music on the night, they should have come round to mine for a few CDs. I have a selection of hardcore audio terrorism that would make their poor little ears bleeeeeeeed.

“Poor soul. Spit upon that poor soul. He never knew what hit him. And it hit him so. Poor dunce. He’s less than within us. The brain talks but the will to live is dead…” David Bowie – ‘A Small Plot of Land’ (1995).

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‘Grub’

“Grub”. May 2007. Part of the ‘Death’ Manifesto node.
Ouroboros Studies – Part 2.
As mentioned last month, here is part II of the collection of blood slates from the Ouroboros Triptych photo session/’outside installation’ that I think deserve to exist in their own right.
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\\\\\\\Transmission .VI.


WELCOME TO THE BLACK LODGE
1. The studio now functional and aesthetically evolved.


2. A couple of shots of the studio’s Green Room, where absinthe paraphernalia and Victorian artwork abound.

3. Another shot of the Green Room, this time of the art desk (where the Clash-inspired canvas collage ‘Iron Serenity’ was born, etc.).

4. And outside? a sea of calm and rural blooming. I obviously hate garden gnomes as much as I do clowns, in general, but I found a large gnome on my doorstep one day recently. God knows where it came from originally but, to be honest, people have been leaving stuff for the new garden left, right and centre. So it could have come from anywhere. Anyway, I have plonked its ailing, peeling soul in the middle of a half-circle of wild grass, flowers, and logs that I created next to the Lodge (for now). Give it a few months and the gnome will be wearing a gimp mask – gleefully brandishing a small wooden M16 assault rifle. I practically guarantee it.

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