Originally when writing a blog post they were unedited. This went on for years and only in the past two began editing them and writing them in a word processor. Currently going back to my old unedited style which is conversational and straight from the browser. Initially was worried my browser might crash but in so many years it never happened. Even if it did maybe it would be a sign. A sign my browser had crashed most likely.

I had really enjoyed the exhibition and talk at UNSW Art and Design and was keen to see more art but then I had to weigh up going to the movies with my daughter or see “Underbelly Arts” at NAS art school. The movies won and saw “Blade Runner 2049”. Was impressed that it is as good as the original though my only criticism was a couple of gratuitously violent scenes that I felt had little point to the story line but highlighted the good guy bad guy matrix.

The soundtrack is excellent the story was well paced and kept you interested. It was a long movie and to me had hall marks of 70s films like Solaris in that it can take the time to show a scene rather than rush through to plot lines. The price of the underbelly art entry was pretty steep but it is held in a number of areas. You really need to make a day of it. My attention span is probably a movie or a gallery visit rather than a larger outing. Rarely see movies so it was a nice change and considering the original Blade Runner is my favourite movie it was great to see a sequel that can match it.

It has been such a fast year and it is still powering on. It seems that this year has been stressful at times and healing but nothing particularly stressful has occurred. There were some financial pluses with some burdens lifted but it didn’t change things in a day to day sense but simply on paper. Definitely better off though thankfully and I am grateful. Always read my Chinese horoscope and it is usually accurate in the strange vague ways these things are.

Had a really creative breakthrough this year but it didn’t make me happier, it seemed to slow me down. Can not tell if that is a good thing yet. My intuition tells me it is good. It seems that the last few years have been building years but I am not quite sure what it is I am building.

In high school my focus was razor sharp. It was always about getting into art school. Once art school was over there was a lot of not knowing. Where would this or that go or where to take it. Simply focused on building my graffiti work and explored that. To see art back on the map is great but my place in art is marginal at least in the last two years. Really know deep down the answers are not in Sydney for me. Sydney is one big work site that is looking for exclusivity.

European graffiti artists are mainly supportive of my graffiti work and a handful of people from different parts of the country. With my new ability to produce work that is satisfying the next step is getting a place to exhibit. To find an audience but doors just don’t open for me in Sydney. It is true that I have been a hermit so I am not mixing but people are caught in the cat and mouse game of the dollar. As an artist commercially I am not viable. Though in the past two years my work has become commercially viable. It just isn’t visible in the gallery circuit. Not many are interested in Sydney.

The real issue is the work is commercial but not able to net big dollars. A lot of the smaller canvas works that are attractive and colourful they can’t really fetch the money to make some galleries worth the cost. If I spent two thousand dollars on a show I would only make that much back in a commercial space. Normally I would only have two keys days to make the money as the galleries will be appointment only.

There is an answer but it can’t be done just yet. Once I am able to get a studio space again there can be large scale work produced that can command the higher dollar. There is a whole standard of work flow and only then can it become serious and catch dollars. In the mean time it is just a matter of smaller quick sales. Work on paper etcetera. Which by the way I am pushing. Hoping to sell my work on paper for $50 aud including postage in Australia to keep things going. That is the current plan. My focus is five years ahead and in that time should be in a studio space and back to producing. Really would love to travel too once the kids are out of high school. You need to have dreams.

It was interesting going to UNSW Art and Design for part of the ‘Big Anxiety Festival’ and seeing Vic McEwan and Clive Parkinson’s talk on their collaborative work “Intensive Care”. The whole idea of the health and medical focus from UNSW Art and Design seems quite strange in an art context but this piece seemed to show where this focus can go. Artists can still push boundaries but in different settings. It is a bold move and seems to have had a positive set of outcomes in this collaborative piece.

To be honest the whole project seemed quite strange but it netted results. Would all artists be as successful in this type of setting? It definitely isn’t meant to be for everyone and is an area of specialised research. The artist primarily studied noise pollution in the hospital and made some collaborative projection work before setting out with a recording of a young patients heart beat to a disused oil tanker in Scotland to record the longest reverberation of a single heartbeat that lasted two minutes.

All of this from a research project into noise pollution in the hospital. It was well rounded in that there were around six results from the research. Interestingly one was an app that explained the different noises in hospitals such as the meaning of specific beeps on machinery to help people come to terms with their hospital stay and understand the language that doctors used in their monitoring of these machines.

I was impressed and enjoyed the talk. It was good to see there were many practical results as well as artistic exploration. They tread a fine line but managed to help people with their grief. The whole thing is difficult but it seemed to open up a lot of possibilities that maybe never would have happened if this push into medical spaces hadn’t of happened. It will be interesting to see where this kind of research goes in the future.