news from the north

after quite a bit of time without a studio space and wondering where the hell in the world to put myself for a while whilst i work out what to do next, and develop some studio work, i am writing from my new studio, in Edinburgh, Scotland. I grew up in Edinburgh from the age of 8 so it is familiar to me, but quite alot has changed (for the better) and quite alot has stayed the same (for the worse) - for instance - there are still so many homeless people on the city streets; it doesn't matter to me whether these people are genuinely homeless or not (which is an argument people always give), what matters is that in a capital city there are so many people sitting out in the cold needing money and shelter.

my new studio is with the nice folk at Rhubaba

http://www.rhubaba.org/

follow the link to see the group and the kinds of things happening here. it is great to have found a space where there are people doing interesting things. i haven't got settled here just yet, but im hoping it won't take long to turn the studio into a dinda zone once i've picked up some of my (many) things.

i went to an seminar / talk yesterday at The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh called Work/Table: Thinking Through Making (in reference to the current exhibition by Massimo Bartolini.)

http://fruitmarket.co.uk/exhibitions/current/

there were a few of points of discussion which i found really interesting:
 - incidents/accidents/events - the idea of there being different modalities of participation and engagement (in a way, both for the artist and the audience).
- objects as/and language  - the idea of objects having an implicit or explicit voice; and the lexicology of an artists' objects.
- play as a transition activity.

more news soon and some pictures of the studio when it's all up and running. once i've got a job (if anyone hears of anything art related around Edinburgh keep me in mind!) and a flat, visits from afar are really welcome, Edinburgh is a little bit like Groningen - there is always something good going on.

don't look away.