31 Letters from August. (A selection of letters)
I am honoured to have countless story spirits visit me each day - they are the ones only I have seen and only I can record. But my memory is like a bucket with holes in. I find myself anxious that I will forget all the little quirks and stories in everyday life. They are not full narratives, they are only the first step in possible adventures. If you look after these little spirits, then they can spark epic stories which will look after you in return. In many ways I find this my duty as an artist.
As a fellow of Schoppingen Kunsteldorf, Germany, I took the time to illustrate one dropped initial letter for each day of August, referencing the Medieval visual style and images I had seen during my visit in the idyllic countryside village. Combined, these became a colossal letter, and fabric pattern, hung on the town hall during the annual Apple festival. A letter from August to my new friends of Schöppingen.
This was a sister project to "Self Portrait" by Seung youn Lee for the Schoppingen Kunstledorf Artist Residency, Germany 2016
August. Dearest Schöppingen, you seem so much like England in many ways. But when I tell German people that they look sad. I am very calm in your nature and warm Summer sunshine. Feeding me with your apple trees and floating in your lakes. You are like the Garden of Eden. The animals do not fear me. Very nice thank you! Very, very nice. Thank you for paying tax so I can come! A safe nest for us to stay and grow.
August. Dear body, I am so sorry for my mind who bullies you and makes our Adam’s apple and stomach hurt so much. Can we all reconcile and make peace now?
August. I wish I was born as a caterpillar. It is the most lucky animal because it gets to live two lives. I have done my practice time as a caterpillar and now I want to be a baby again, but as a moth. I found him on the hot road and placed him safely in the grass.
August. She became a baby again in Schöppingen. She swam in her first lake. She picked her first apple from the tree. And she met her first goats, cows, horses.
August. I found seven dead birds on the road. The ground was hot. I wanted to lay down on their soft chests and keep them company. Their soft bodies against the boiling ground. Where are you going my soft dead birds? Can I come too? To see. Can I come with you? Just to see.
August. An excited Korean girl mistook Münster for a MONSTER!
August. Happy Birthday. Today I discovered new hair which will grow even after I die.
August. Some days have...
August. Boring stories.
August. When I die please do not put me into a box. I need all of my bits and pieces to go back to the trees and the plants and animals so they can live again.
August. The woman in Schöppingen church has the biggest forehead I have ever seen and her baby has the face of an adult man. Award for the biggest forehead I have ever seen in my life. Well done for that. Congratulations!
August. The other goats make fun of him! Poor big head. Big head. Big head. Big head. Big head. Big head. Big head.
August. I wish you would visit here. This is about you. I hope you stop drinking so much and moisturise more. I am still here.
August. Bicycles and sausages. I am the leader of the foreign bicycle gang and we eat sausages and enter into the magical forest with the sandy rivers.
August. The ice-cream journey is the adventure to get the delicious trophy after a long day of cycling.
August. I accept your apology. But you are still an asshole. This producer Jae Wang Lee made me into a foreign clown on TV. In return I made a lovely make-over for him. A present.
August. Thirty-one letters from August.
August. Poke’mon Go! Yah! I stole the Poke’mon from the kids.
August. He is a very independent pet rabbit and travels across the street to bully the horses.
August. I discovered many little hidden streams coming out from under the buildings. In the darkness there were many tiny fish swimming there. I wondered how they may live their whole lives so confined in such darkness. The drain is their whole world. Universe. Dreaming of the ocean.
August. I see the refugee girl every day pushing her baby along in a pram. We look and smile. But we never speak. I have so many questions. But does it help to ask? Probably not.
August. Ooops! I designed a logo for a luxury brand.
August. I did a secret date with a refugee. In the storm clouds were six balls of lightning spinning. I should have been scared, but I lay on the grass and slept.
August. To stay calm it is really helpful to look into space. You are nothing, but you are something.
August. Nightmares of mutation. LOL
August. Meeting the animal residents of Schöppingen.
August. Who is the water God under the Church?
August. I should not use the wind turbines to navigate Schöppingen.
August. My Syrian friend says that Schöppingen is purgatory.
