Sit rep: The magic chair broke again, I think like me it’s past it’s sell by date, Jason says he’s going to weld a massive new piece of steel on it next time. Meanwhile, I’ve bought a new one on my credit card, that and the new disabled friendly bathroom, bills when you are disabled are huge.
I mentioned the chair on the Everyday Pain FB page but not my more worrying issue. I had a new limitation to my list of foods I can eat last month.
I went gluten free to try and help my bowels and in the main with the new loo, Sister Morphine and her irrigation equipment have not been required, yepeee!!!! However, that change didn’t come a minute too soon because I think the small intestines were really bad and I must have stopped absorbing vitamin C because my old tumour removal scar which is 6 years old had started to breakdown and open up. It became infected and I started to run a temperature. I’m pretty knowledgeable on skin healing being a tattoo artist so emergency vitamin c zinc and magnesium, salt baths and aloe Vera has turn the whole thing around pronto… but the whole bl**dy thing reminds me how small my flight envelope is these days and how close I am to coffin corner! Top Gun reference there.
I’m still typing these blogs using one finger on my phone while lying down, this is needed to air out the open wound to help oxygenated the skin. But I will be delighted to finally get my table/ chair/ iPad set up back.
Film wise I’m almost finished apart from some sea or what will be some splashing sounds. You’d have thought it would be easy to record some sea sounds living on a beach, but no, we’ve had 3 flood warning this last week and a very angry sea! So it will be water splashing in the sink instead.
Another tricky issue has been Italian audio description to enter the film this week in THE 2022 Eleanor Worthington Prize.
Theme: “DISABILITY AND TRANSFORMATION for AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY”
It was always going to be difficult because I was up against the edit and it’s reading week. Which for most students and postgraduates means uni work and deadlines. But now with the expense of the chair and bathroom I have to work to try and reduce the debt as well, so time is compressing. I do love a challenge. The Everyday juggling of need, pain and requirements. So I’ve recorded a Google translate audio description and as it describes Sister Morphine’s equipment it could be interesting.
When the magic chair was operational, I managed to make a short animated film for my week 7 workshop pitch, I need to do some checklists, get Dwain looking for my belly dancing costume, I gave most of them away to a tribal dance group when I moved to Borth, so I know I haven’t got much left! I do have my sword though!
I enjoyed brainstorming with some of the group on the workshop ideas. All the ideas were different and exciting so I’m looking forward to the workshop week!
The 3D box brainstorm was excellent as I love dimensionality of problem solving, I think that’s why I’m still alive!
Curse of Dimensionality
The curse of dimensionality refers to various phenomena that arise when analysing and organising data in high-dimensional spaces that do not occur in low-dimensional settings such as the three-dimensional physical space of everyday experience. The expression was coined by Richard E. Bellman when considering problems in dynamic programming.
This definition always made me smile as I thought it was computer programmers trying to make their work sound sexy!
So I really loved the box… (the programmers need a box) ….of course that is exactly what they mentally make I suppose. Which leads me nicely into my Secret Garden workshop but more of that next week!
Right I’m off to make splashing sea noises in the sink!
Well that went well! Got the film finished, started to enter it…. And RTFQ… what is wrong with me it’s not a 4min it film, it’s a 3min film.. the audio description was to be 2mins not the length of the film… I’m cross with myself.
After a mad scramble it’s now all re-edited and re-recorded. The other complication was how it was submitted … here I am wanting a digital art practice and I feel like I’m riding a dinosaur of technical incompetence… well I got it sorted which is a small victory.. if I remember it for next time I’ll be amazed!
As a disabled fine art student with complex health needs, it has been a challenging yet transformative experience translating my skills into a relevant contemporary art practice.
Instead of being a portrait painter, I find myself in my 3rd year developing a social media, time-based, fine art digital practice.
I see my current practice as disrupted realism, which re-contextualises figurative realism for a distracted age.
Every phone has an image processing app with a disruptive stylised feature, so you too can be reborn disrupted. Through our animated avatars, we can be able and beautiful.
What if we turn that around? If we accepted our reality and used the digital realm to spread inclusion and acceptance.
We are programmed not to talk about pain, disabilities and our problems. If we do say something but don’t get a response or validation, we shut down even more.
I want to turn that around with my art, using the childlike language of gentle humour to make a safe space to share. To find a way to open up dialogue and find a new way to communicate about pain and disability, share our everyday experiences, and maybe help each other to transform our experiences and become an inclusive society.
