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| When I was very young, a highlight of the summer was the Sunday school outing. Usually at a tiny old fashioned play park called Wannock Gardens. We'd have a picnic lunch, play on the rides, visit the resident water otter, and spend our pocket money on cheap crap in the gift shop. My mother for some unknown reason told us we could no longer go there as it had fallen into the sea, now it was close to the sea but I didn't think it was that close. I often thought of that magical little place and wished it was still around for my children to see. I discovered recently that it didn't in fact fall into the sea it had just closed down because the owners couldn't maintain it. On the way back from this visit we'd stop near Beachy head, a famous suicide spot that boasts it's own resident counsellor who tries to talk people out of ending it all. I'd look over the edge and shiver as a child not really knowing why, but sensing that this was a very sad place. Over the years the idea of suicide and my Sunday school outings became intertwined as I'd picture The entire play park committing suicide. Thanks mum, yet another unnecessary lie that screwed me up! |
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Seaside Suicide - Moleskine Art
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This gave me chills!!! There is a forest in Japan that is also a popular suicide spot....
ReplyDeleteI've heard of that place! Isn't it strange that fashion extends to where people choose to end their lives. Beachy head is a cliff face and at the bottom are brutal rocks, so it isn't for the fainhearted by any means. And what a place to take children to visit!
ReplyDeleteThis piece really affected me,and your comments underneath too.Although I have to say that what your mum said about that place falling "into the sea" made me smile,despite it being a little cruel.It all reminded me of my own childhood, which was characterised by anxiety.I think that's why I like this piece so much--and a lot of your work--because it captures that anxiety,that fuzziness,doubt,uncertainty of childhood,and there's a real tension in the piece.To me it's full of a sense of impending doom;or maybe that's just my current mood and I'm applying that to your work here..I don't know really,but either way it evoked a lot of emotions in me...thanks Bunny,I always enjoy looking at your work,for lots of reasons. David (Mellish_F46 :))
ReplyDeleteThanks David, you've really hit the nail on the head. I spent my entire childhood in a state of anxiety, because I never felt I could go to my parents for truthful answers, I had to rely on what I could make of things. It does lead to a very creaky unstable world where everything feels as if it is likely to collapse on your head at any moment. On the plus side it gave me an endless treasure trove of crap to draw on in my work. And what never ceases to surprise me, is how many others had similar experiences, of childhood being a place of shifting sands and constant uncertainty.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bunny.....I just left you quite a long comment,but it seems to have disappeared! Oh well....all I said basically was that I didn't think you were accessing a 'treasure trove of crap,' so to speak,but were in fact connecting with your subconscious,and turning all those anxieties and doubts and uncertainties of childhood-and life-into a powerful art form....and I admire you for that.Long may it continue! I think that's why I really like your work in particular,and collage in general;because both place incongruous images side by side, to create a kind of new reality,and that can have a jarring,evocative effect.Thanks again for getting back to me.All the best,David
ReplyDeleteWell thank you David for taking the time and caring enough to comment.
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