Roskilde Cathedral

At the International Council of Museums – Conservation Committee (ICOM-CC) Triennial conference in Copenhagen (4th – 8th September 2017) I visited the Roskilde Cathedral.

It was an unexpected wonderful experience. Having endeavored on my career path over 20 years ago, I not only left my home, family, community and country-but also neglected various practices and relationships while learning new practices and making new encounters with places and people.

The visit to Roskilde Cathedral, when I entered the space, triggered a swell of memories flooding back, bringing with them my younger self and kick starting some serious self reflection of some sort.

I guess World and personal events over the last 2 years caused a decrease in certainties while simulatneously increasing the level and nature of uncertainty in many aspects of my life. Everything seems to be in Flux – or my senses have become hightened in perceiving the dynamics rather than their momentary tangible expression. And by experiencing all these pushs and pulls, in addition to the continuously ‘bombardment of information, news, and statistics’ of 24 hour communication media commentary – my head starts to slightly spin.

Entering the Cathedral as a visitor to the place as part of a technical tour, I was curious to see the Architecture and the Interior of this UNESCO World heritage monument.

Being somewhat bewildered by the Scandinavian understated yet stylish perfection of design, in the form of a ‘headset’, with which I could listen to the tour guides information and stories via a ‘bluetooth or alike’ microphone, I started to look helplessly around (to get confirmation I wasn’t the only Technosaurus with this headpiece)… and got immediately distracted by the tall and light architecture of the nave of the building, white walls against the red brick structure and the most subtle yet vivid decorative wall/ ceiling paintings:

And from then on I wandered in awe of the place and space, and I am sorry to admit I completely tuned out of the information being delivered into my ear canals, even though I finally managed to get to grips with the headset (and its 7 channels!).

The space became a platform for contemplation on many of the events and people in my life, past and present. It didn’t solve my problems but it silenced the noise from the bigger World and made me listen inwards.

I didn’t quite expect this reaction.

Rather than viewing and admiring the objects, structures, stones and paint as creations of art, I felt the space as an experience of ‘Art at work’ in this ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’, for it made me think freely.

Needless to say I can only recommend to visit this place if you are open to experiencing churches as Interiors, Installation Art, Concept Art, and in the past contemporary Performance Art. With it being the last resting place for Denmark’s Kings and Queens, there are a lot of stories of power, wealth, beliefs, tragedy, politics, and human drama hidden in those monuments and spaces, and I would recommend to either have a booklet about the Cathedral or a tour guide. ..the tour guide, however, comes with a tricky piece of technological gadgetry!

 

 

‘Biedermann und die Brandstifter’ – The Firebugs

 

Reading this play at 14 as part of my school curriculum, I remember being outraged by the main character, constantly thinking ‘surely nobody could be this blind to the obvious!’

I never thought then that I would live to witness this play unfold…

This dark comedy by Max Frisch in 1953, is set in a town that is regularly attacked by arsonists. Disguised as door-to-door salesmen (hawkers), they talk their way into people’s homes and settle down in the attic, where they set about planning the destruction of the house.

The first sketch was written in 1948 in response to the Communist takeover in Prague, but the play is often seen as a metaphor for Nazism and fascism, and Frisch encourages this through several allusions.

The play shows how “normal” citizens can be taken in by evil. As a parable, in a more general sense it may be considered to be descriptive of the gullible and easily manipulated aspects of the German Biedermann – the Everyman – who yearns both for a sense of shallow propriety as well as for a deeper sense of belonging, even if it comes at a great price, including that which is sensible or even necessary for his own survival. In that sense, the play shares much with absurdist plays written at about the same time, such as Eugene Ionesco’s ‘Rhinoceros’.

The central character, a businessman called Biedermann, is seen at the outset reading newspaper reports of arson, convinced that he could never be taken in. Within minutes, the first “hawker” has appeared (Schmitz), and through a combination of intimidation and persuasion he talks his way into spending the night in the attic.

As the play unfolds, a second arsonist appears (Eisenring), and before Biedermann can do anything to stop it, his attic is piled high with oil drums full of petrol. He even helps them to measure the detonating fuse and gives them matches, refusing to believe the full horror of what is happening. He soon becomes an accomplice in his own downfall.

The action is observed by a Greek-style chorus of “firemen”, and the increasingly surreal flavour culminates in a final scene, the afterpiece, where Biedermann and his wife Babette find themselves at the gates of Hell. Here they once again meet Schmitz and Eisenring who turn out to be Beelzebub and the Devil respectively, who, after becoming angered at the number of mass murderers being allowed to go to Heaven, refuses to conduct a Hell for a “small fry” like Biedermann.

The name Biedermann is itself a play on the German word “bieder” meaning conventional, conservative, worthy, honest, upright and is frequently used in a pejorative or ironic context. Thus the name equates to der ‘biedere Mann’ or the ‘worthy man’. (from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fire_Raisers_(play) 20/03/2017)

Any resemblance to actual persons living, or actual events is (not so) purely coincidental.

Tiree

2016 has been … I haven’t yet found the word to sum it up- lets call it ‘eventful’ for the time being.

Apart from the global political and economic events which appear to increase proportionately with the fragmentation and dissipation of ‘the World as we used to know it’- this year was very much a journey on a personal level, which saw me travelling every single month, very much exhausting my carbon footprint for the next decade.

Some of this travel was for professional reasons, most travel however being a logistical reality of living away from one’s family, whose individual members aren’t getting any younger and physically fitter.

Having unknowingly immigrated to the UK 19 years ago (the plan was to do a three year degree and then return home to the continent) it has been rather poigniant how health scares and the passing of my closest family members had to happen in the same year Britain voted to leave the EU.

I wouldn’t go as far as calling it an existential crisis on my behalf-rather I would describe it as an involuntary adventure track through the ever expanding and shape shifting world portrayed and imagined for me by the mainstream-and my very own instincts and values increasingly under threat from the surge of banality and populism that appears to expand at the expense of beauty, ingenuity, care and kindness.

So what initially was just another journey in this years calendar-the family trip to Tiree for the October week-seemed initially just another project of potential stress and upheaval to my mind which really just wanted some time out, or hiding under the duvet, not to be seen for a very long time, and just sleep, sleep, sleep and ideally when waking up finding it’ll all was just a bad dream-which I may add was even before Donald Trump was elected president of the United States…

However stressed and distracted my concious mind may have become this year with all the nonsense fuelled by the worshippers of nihilism, something somewhere in my mind, it’ll have to have been my subconsciousness – was clever enough to book the ferry and the cottage on Tiree regardless to all the other mayhem pushing and pulling plans, energy levels and sanity all over the place.

So the night before we had to pack the car and start on the motorway out of Glasgow, over winding roads alongside Loch Lomond, through hills and valleys to get to Oban for our ferry crossing-I had very much reached the height of ever experienced personal stress levels – magnified by a jet lag from a journey to the ‘temple of simulacra’; Los Angeles, 2 weeks prior to this.

In reality I think I knew how disorientating and challenging this trip to LA would be for me personally and professionally, so Tiree was a bit of an antidote to rebalance myself after LaLaland. I know the effect the Scottish landscape has on me and not long into our car journey, the landscape did it’s thing…colours, shapes, lines, curves, clouds, skies, mountains, water, sea, grass, silhouettes, shadows, shapes, wind, gusts, warmth, salty air, red cheeks, tangled hair, squinting eyes, crashing waves, seagulls croaks, clear night skies, highland cows, many sheep, kites, surfers, croft houses, conversations, hearty food, cups of tea and coffee, walking, hiking, climbing, laughing, shouting, building sand castles, collecting shells, stones, sticks, playing with dogs, children, watching sunset, sunrise, sketching, drawing, inventing games, making new friends, ideas and inspiration, excitement, happyness, freedom;

…feeling and being human…

The ferry journey to Tiree from Oban via Coll and Tiree through the Sound of Mull.

A rainbow, it was so big and wide I didn’t get it in it’s complete width! Plus there was another on top of it, and I already was up to my ankles in the sea!

Silver light…and the spray of of the waves…

Light and dark, clouds and blue sky, light beams, reflection, motion, lines and patterns…

Kaleidoscope

sunset

 

Stille Nacht

…silent night’ the opening words of the hymn that will be sung at the climax of the Christmas mass.

At the end of a year which appears to have been one acceleration of violence, wars, conflicts, polarisation, death, abuse, aggressive rethoric, bullying, scare mongering, terrorism; Christmas seems somewhat confusing this year.

The consequences of the hostile and negative conditions and environments affecting the individuals and their communities, politics, economics, the environment and culture wreaking havoc on our perception of the state of the World. Confusion, worry and sorrow in abundance seem to have replaced hope, kindness and peace, and cause paralysis and increase frustration of feeling increasingly powerless with the only coping mechansim to disengage from it all.

So for Christmas this year, my wish is for a ‘silent night’. A night of rest and recovery for all. A pause from the race of life with all it’s difficulties and highs and lows.

When our mind is full with worry, it keeps us awake. Stress keeps us awake, nightmares make us restless. Yet for our physical and spiritual (mental) well being a good sleep allows to recharge and recover.

Having witnessed much of the suffering of humanity through modern communication and news media this year, I am paralysed by the vividness and assault of imagery of human suffering and disregard for any values of humanity by the purpetrators and those who excuse and whitewash their ideologies- I feel in particuar for the parents and their children in not only Syria but also in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and many parts of Africa, much forgotten yet afflicted by poverty, oppression, corruption, conflict, terror and abuse.

As a mother myself, I can’t even bring myself to try and imagine the fear and worry of a woman to become a mother for her and her child(ren)’s future when finding herself in what must feel like hell on Earth, in any of these regions at her  most vulnerable and relient on others care and kindness.

Apart from the violence all around, with no means of santitation, warmth, food and medicine, what strength and where from must a mother and father conjure up to continue to cope existing ?

The parallels of these contemporary experiences to the narrative of the nativity are plenty. A highly pregnant woman and her husband on the move in winter with no shelter, food and warmth, two humans enthralled in the turbulence of their times.

When taking this story out of it’s religous/ Christian context it becomes just another story of human vulnerability and fragility of life, and even though we all understand the desperation of the parents to be and the innkeepers apathy fuelled by their own circumstances, fears and worries, we don’t seem to act any different when we are the eye witnesses of such circumstances, conditions and behaviours.

The story doesn’t end with the birth of the child in a humble stable with only a donkey and an ox as the other wintesses to the miracle of bringing a new life into the World.

It is the beginning of a new journey, a new opportunity, hope for a better future. It is a new glimmer which can only grow into a warmth gving fire if nurtured and protected.

The moment of marveling at the newborn child is one of stillness and silence. There aren’t any words that allow for the ocean of emotions engulfing the parents. A mix of pride, relief, euphoria, but also fear, anxiety, and worry – polar opposites at the same time – the irrational and instinctive overlapping with consciousness – resulting in a momentary experience of life.

The child, the protagonist, blissfully unaware of it’s parents aspirations, wishes, fears and worries, recouperating from his/ her traumatic experience of being born, settling into sleep with not a care in the World, the sleep of innocence.

I wish that we all will have the opportunity to have a rest-a calm and restful sleep, free of worry about harm to us or our loved ones, financial anxieties, worry about our or a loved ones health, upset from abusive and bullying behaviour, stresses from environmental disasters, paranoia from media reports of World politics and economics…, to recharge and renew our motivation for the journey.

I wish that everyone will just for a moment stop and pause, halt what they are doing, clear their mind of all the negative information they are bombarded with day in day out and put themsleves in the narrative of the nativity and reconnect with that energy inside us all that drives and sustains live: care.

Care is giving, a selfless act that puts the well being of the other before ones own advantage. It is what makes quality of life. Placing the worries of the other before ours allows to gain perspective, not only on one’s own problems but much more so on one’s strength and abilities. Receiving care without an exchange of a currency is the greatest gift to give and priceless to the receiver. Our consciousness gives us the ability of free choice, the choice to act in kindness to others and ourselves, especially when challenged to do so.

The rewards are intangible, the action often hard and difficult to the one who provides care, they can’t be measured in quantifiable outcomes, and the effect of care may be small, short lived and unnoticed by others.

But just like the one individual providing the stable for Mary and Josef to rest, a gesture of kindness and selfless care is what defines humanity and its entire beauty and wonder, and is each and every time an affirmation. And we can all experience this affirmation of life. It goes without saying that the more gestures of care through kindness the better the quality for all.

I am convinced that we all have in common the ability to care, so I propose to everyone to be kind and to care, by pausing and listening to the needs of the people  around us and the environments we are part of, and to be there for them with no fear. This may be lending a helping hand to an elderly neighbour, treating and talking to the unruly teenager in the street with the intent to gain insight into their perception, making that phone call to someone we know is lonely, doing the washing up, sharing the food instead of throwing it away, clearing the rubbish from the garden or close, visiting friends, relatives, whatever may help the other in any shape or form.

If it means it allows them to have a better nights sleep it’ll also allow oneself to rest in the knowledge to have done a tiny bit to make the World a better place.

To stop all this nihilistic nonsense we currently find ourselves in we only need to ignore the communication of extremist’s armageddon and silence it through acting and expressing the values which drive and sustain our existence; the ability to care, which every moment bares an opportunity to do so.

Merry Christmas

 

 

 

…a year on from the Environmental Arts Festival Scotland

On September 1st Super Moon will be in full view in Seoul, Korea. We celebrate the beauty of our ability to orbit our dreams and consciousness into reality. Commissioned by Lotte World, Super Moon is a 60-foot inflatable sculpture surrounded by a garden of 8 symbolic planets of color and light that will float on Seokchon Lake. The installation glows and courses with life and color while holding us in its cosmic presence. Super Moon is a shared experience meant to induce a sense of peace and serenity in a communal way, as an experience of unification and stillness.   The ‘Moon’ – Super or not – this update by ‘FriendswithMe’ reminded me of my three day weekend in August 2015, in the Hills of Dumfries, with my tent pitched up near a 14th Century ruin… On the saturday night we had an incredible display of the Moon (and the 14th Century ruin was some backdrop!), A blue moon-I think, regardless, it was very large and very round and very: bright!. So bright that at midnight our silhuettes were casting ‘s along the landscape. I stood at the lake around the Morton Castle, with five other people, learning all about night sky photography. After this night course on my way back to my tent I got side tracked by a group of people sitting around a camp fire, and joining their conversations. These were quite something, even though I can’t remember what we all talked about. The content wasn’t maybe that important, or communication as a means to exchange information and fact was replaced by communication as an avenue for sharing, painting pictures, being playful…regardless it turned a switch in my head which must have been out of action since leaving those innocent childhood years behind to become a teenager – and probably was only possible to re discover by returning to a setting similar to the one I grew up in as a child; nature. During my first expidition to a ‘burn’ near by, earlier that day (in broad daylight) I got chatting to an artist from South Korea. Stomping and tumbling through the deep grass, and ‘abseiling’ down the burns side to get to the flowing river, to witness carbon off gassing with the environment (it is called the Environmental Arts Festival for a Reason!); we helped each other, not to fall over, or disappear down a mud slide, while exchanging our stories as to how we got to be there. I admired her, as she simply decided she wanted to learn from meeting people accross the World and be inspired by them and their stories, instead of attending a dedicated training or study at  a prestigous institution to obtain a certificate. So she left and abandoned everything and just with herself as company embarked on her journey. Her English was sporadic, my Korean language skills non existent; yet despite our cultural complexities and differences our brief encounter on Mother Nature’s terms and conditions provided a shared experienced connection. I have no idea where she may currently be (physically and/ or spiritually), but the ‘FriendswithYou’ collaboration with Lotte World in Seoul for the Supermoon on the 1st of September; opened up that random connection as a memory in the present of that brief encounter in the past, a single fleeting interaction…

Mercator Magic Ring

My encounter with the Mercator Ring…

30 seconds of World power…what would you do?

Go to http://www.idagos.co.uk/blog/

Experiment #14 WATERMEETS

…share your meeting with water….

Documentation of a journey: The Crash Reel

I watched this documentary while traveling back from Australia.

It is exhilarating, funny, devastating, upsetting, and life reaffirming all in one…

…watch the incredible journey of equally incredible Kevin Pearce and his family and friends.

Love Your Brain

Denise’s diary of her journey to EAFS

images of my journey to EAFS 2015 – as far as the eye
can see.

 

Air

Water

Fire

My boxes: I made 4, one for each element –
earth, air, fire and water – containing curious and beautiful objects
and alluding loosely to some participating artists and their projects.

 

and this was Earth and its contents connected to the sensing life
workshop guide by Bill Coleman, a choreographer from Canada, who likes
to tap-dance.

Question 3: What is your experience of the journey?

Where to start?

What was the journey?

I decided to document the actual travel from Glasgow to Morton Castle with a ‘GoPro’ camera. Attached to the inside of the windscreen of my car, I positioned it so to capture the changing landscape, not so much the street (I also wanted to avoid filming cars number plates) but the changing ‘architecture’ (urban and rural) and the sky.

I am a fan of the sky here in Scotland. In Glasgow it is often hidden by what I call ‘a thick grey ‘mono cloud’, obscuring and blocking warmth and light from the sun. But when it clears up, the sun rises, dawn, dusk, incoming storm fronts, rain and sunshine simultaneously, basically when weather happens the ‘skyscape’ here in Scotland is a captivating, dramatic, tranquil, lush experience.

As a technophobe I expected a struggle with the cables and equipment of my documentation media (the camera), and ended up accidentally recording the quizzical expressions on my face while wondering if the camera is ‘on’…

Once the camera was ‘enabled’ to do it’s thing despite continuous interference through my human irrationality (Is it still recording? Is the battery empty? Does it record sound?) I started to re focus on the other things I had planned and prepared for.

This led after an hour and half way near the Festival to the realisation that I left all of my food nicely packed in a single bag at home!

Driving along I weighed up the pro and cons for continuing without food, including a bag full of cinnamon swirls I baked the night before- or to turn back and pick up the carefully arranged survival package for a weekend of Wild camping.

I drove back, which also helped re charge the battery of the camera (down to nothing after 20 minutes of filming) and picked up that bag of food, my children had already claimed into their possession and made plans what to eat first- so I got there just in time!

Once I was back on track, with food, and on a country road weaving along the river Nith through forests and hills excitement about the location, people, encounters, art and Nature started to grow.

To keep in line with being reliable on always being unreliable- the camera abandoned me just when I turned of the main road to follow the signs through ‘wilderness’ to the most stunning camp site: an open field embraced by a forest and mountains as the backdrop, a 14th Century ruin atop of a Loch. The battery was empty and the camera cut out just when I turned into the forest.

The first thing I did was to put up my tent, it was still light and dry. The tent went up within 10 minutes I am proud to say. I also did some material testing of my own on utilising two sheets of polyethylene foam we use in the museum for storage and packing of objects in regards to the materials insulating properties and performance, by covering the tent floor. The sheets are flexible and can be rolled up just like a yoga mat. I was also hoping for some provision of cushioning which lasted for about two minutes when embarking on a horizontal position with all my weight. I also ended up sleeping diagonally, arranging the shape of my anatomy accordingly to the undulated ground.

The conversations happening all around me into the dark night and the sound of rain (which started eventually) on my tent were somewhat comforting and I drifted into sleep, waking up just once when the sound of a single voice provided an impromptu ‘a Capella’ version of Nena’s 1985 hit: ‘Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann’ (see post)…in German, in the middle of the night, in the wilderness and presence of a 14th Century Castle, deer and other animals in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland.

Here I am at the Environmental Art Festival Scotland.