A LOST DAY, A NEW PROJECT, AND THE PHYSIOLOGY OF ANGELS

Have you ever lost a day? I don't mean wasted it but entirely misplaced it? Well, that's what I did, last week. Entirely convinced that it was Wednesday I was blithely into normal Wednesday rhythm until around 4 pm when the phone rang and a voice from the dentist's practice in Salisbury said that I had an appointment at 2:15 pm. "Yes, I know," I said blithely, "It's for tomorrow, Thursday." The voice went quiet and several degrees colder. "Today is Thursday," it said. Astonishment, abject apology and embarassment rushed in, transforming innocent Wednesday into guilty Thursday. And what's more I lost my pre-booked train ticket, no refund allowed. My excuse is that I didn't go out on Monday or Tuesday so I couldn't tell what day it was because I am so concentrated on the new project I'm working on. 

The new project is Unfolded Books, a forthcoming exhibition to open in June at the National Library of Wales and possibly to tour elsewhere after it ends in September. It is being organised by artist and curator Mary Husted, a friend of Clive Hicks-Jenkins who is one of the artists invited to participate in this project and it is through his very kindly introducing her to my work that I am included. There are eight artists from Wales, three from Hong Kong, two from Australia and one from England (me). All, with the exception of myself, are personally known to Mary but we are meeting next month to remedy this. Each artist has received one or two of the concertina/accordion books which Mary bought in Hong Kong for this purpose and each is free to fill it however she/he chooses. 

My book arrived last week. Below is a photo of it - a tall narrow 33cm x 11.7cm when closed. It's over 2metres long when fully unfolded and I am going to fill both sides of the accordion - that's 52 panels. I've decided on a theme and a technique but both shall remain secret until finished. The deadline is end of May - that's almost tomorrow and I have a huge amount of work to do.

What of the physiology of angels? Probably nothing to do with the above. It came from a dream I had on Wednesday, 8th February (famously not Thursday). It was a long and intricate dream but the relevant bit is that a girl who had contacted me on the internet asked me to come over and advise her on a book she was making. So I went to her house, carrying my breakfast, and sat at her table eating it while she chatted to me about herself. She seemed bored and in a hurry and I wasn't very interested in her but to be polite, I said: what do you really want to do? Her answer amazed me. She said: I want to research the physiology of angels. I replied that there is a team of scientists in outer space who are studying the particles we are made of. 

MORE

OUR DAVE IN LONDON

 The Via Negativa is a road well-travelled, at least in Dave Bonta's cyber-corner of it, even if in the real world it is hidden in Plummers Hollow, a Pennsylvania mountain woodland richly populated by a great variety of animal, vegetable and mineral wildlife, every specimen of which our Dave knows personally, addresses by proper name, and often photographs, films or writes poems about. I say our Dave because he's a friend among good friends, first encountered in the blogosphere, then in New York in 2007, then last week right here at home. Here he is looking at the cyclops-eye of my camcorder while we talk - a rambling conversation which he recorded and which will eventually appear on Via Negativa as a podcast.

It takes a very good reason to lure this hermit-ish poet/ philosopher/ naturalist away from his porch in the woods and the excellent reasons which brought Dave to the UK for two weeks were a book, a reading and an exhibition. The exhibition: Clive Hicks-Jenkins' 60th birthday retrospective at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, beautifully documented on Clive's Artlog. The book: The Book of Ystwyth for which Dave contributed poems; and the reading of his poems, along with the other poets, as part of the festivities around this prestigious event. You can see more about all this on Via Negativa including links to other bloggers who have written about it. 

I enjoyed Dave's visit so much, savouring the peaceful attentiveness he gives to everything, a rare quality that I can learn from. The attention I give to the world is often agitated by ego-driven judgements and coloured by emotions - not the best way to use one's perceptive faculties.

 
MORE