You backed the limited first edition of A Speccy Man Has A Breakdown. Thank you. Now I’ve made a new gallery show, and I’d like to invite you to it.
You may recognise this image from the book. It helps to explain why I’m calling the new gallery show Contain Multitudes.
I nicked the title from Walt Whitman, who wrote “I am large, I contain multitudes”. But the pictures in this show aren’t of me. They’re portraits of other people – portraits I’ve made over the last two or three years, of individuals and couples and groups.
As the title suggests, I’m trying to foreground the idea that every one of us contains a mix of moods and identities.
And relationships. I learned from my training in improvisational theatre that we really only exist in relation to the people and things around us. Every modifier we might use to describe ourselves or others (“rich”, “funny”, “dangerous”) always implies the existence of someone else.
It wasn’t easy to see that when I was depressed, and (painfully) self-absorbed.
Contain Multitudes gives me a chance to show what I see when I look outwards, at others. It’s about seeing and being seen.
The show takes place at Burgh House, Hampstead, from 18 to 23 August.
Because you backed the limited first edition, you’re also invited to the private view on the first night. I’ll send details separately.
From now until the show opens, I’ll be writing every day – about the sitters, the decisions, what’s going on the walls, and what I’m learning as I put it all together. If you’d like to follow along, jp at this domain name to let me know.
I don’t expect you to read every one. Following along is free.
And if any of this resonates with someone you know, I’d love it if you passed it on.
JPF