These are mad times and it's been a very strange ride so far. As the UK Government tries to mitigate the long term effects for big business ie Tory Party Donors, many creatives have been using their platforms to share important information to try and stop the spread of this deadly Covid-19. Seeing the numbers of infected and the daily death rates is quite sobering so even thinking about writing a blog post has been a distant thought. As British life is up ended almost over night and front line health care staff become the new heroes of the Conservatives who've constantly voted down paying them more, I guess we find ourselves at a lot of strange cross roads and staring into a lot of different abyss's.
I'm thankful that my day job has allowed me to work from home whilst doing occasional days to help with staff training for the NHS. I play a small role but it feels nice to be doing something. I think for many the idea of endless holidays is bliss, until faced with it and then the prospect can be quite daunting. I've spent most of my first few weeks glued to news bulletins and YouTube up dates. The constant stream of sad news, fear and inaction from the UK Government put me in a strange mindset. But now feels like my head is better able to process things and I've found some light relief. Art has always been a go to when dealing with difficult experience's and I've been making mental notes and trying to capture some of the works, thoughts and ideas that artist's have shared during this situation so far.
Some artist's seem to actually be in their element in providing a bit of alternative commentary on current events while other's work takes on even more meaning as the world faces the fall out of Covid 19. Instagram has been the main source for what I've been digesting and also the platform which many have turned to as the number of Live videos, Q & A's and other engaging antics have risen dramatically since the lock down. A few favourites have come up Trumps (despite Trump himself exposing just how poorly suited he is to be leader of the free world ) and Spanish artist Joan Cornella has served up some laughs. I mean this piece makes sense at the best of times as big business continue to plunder the natural world and create systems which see's those with the very least hit the hardest time and again by inhumane government reforms. Joan's work is often cynical and on point. And I don't think he's doing anything in particular for the current crisis, it's just his default dark humour tapping into the collective vibes around the world.
But as much as I enjoy sticking it to the man, I felt more compelled to dive into 'Live Life Sunny Side Up' by New Yorks Jeremy Ville. With his daily drawings, many with thoughtful or motivational slogans he manages to penetrate the daily gloom. Although when the new social distancing rules kicked in, a few of his drawings took on a slightly different meaning #NOTOUCHING! But in dark times we all need a bit of light and I find Jeremy's work always makes me feel a little spike of joy, sometimes that can be enough to change your entire day or week. And Jeremy is an advocate for balance so you'll find plenty of moody, contemplative pieces to admire too.
The Misfortune Teller has been pretty much on point the entire time and managed to sneak in a few timely interventions in New York before thing's really got serious. I think he was in the right time at the right place or maybe wrong time at the right place? His post's have brought a lot of laughs with their often humour perspective, which we all need. And it's not all laughs, many of his pieces have a sting to them, piercing the socially acceptable bubble and often revealing the ugly under current of life. With billionaires like Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley risking people's lives for joggers, it's nice to have artists provide a little kick back. Although Ashley has apologised for his stupidity it really means very little when people's actual lives have been put on the line. Like Boris clapping for the NHS. Direct to Hell.com for the both of them!
One of the first artist's to respond to the current situation is Nuart Aberdeen favourite Isaac Cordal. In early March he posted one of his unique figurines with its blue slippers and face mask, the new symbol for this global pandemic. A slew of artists have used the mask in their works to reference the current situation but placing his figurine in a bell jar was the icing on the cake as the world began to self isolate en mass. He also accompanied his post with some positive words of encouragement. "Events art accelerating. Let's all try to slow down the progress of the #coronavirus as much as possible. We have a major challenge ahead of us as a society. I wanted to send a lot of encouragement to everyone!" You know it's sad when artists are speaking more sense than many world leaders. Isaac was also in the middle of a new project in Norway that was affected by the onslaught of news, the results of which can be seen below and on his instagram here.
Certain trends have began to appear as artists either share pre existing work or create brand new works in response to Covid 19 and the various effects it's had. You can see works from London's Pure Evil and Stinkfish below. It's been strange to watch news up dates from China as they come out the other side of the pandemic while Italy seemed to be crumbling under the huge strain created by the illness. Indeed, much of the spreading of the disease seems to have come as a result of tourist's on ski holidays in the North of the country picking up the disease without realising before jetting off back to their home countries. I mean one thing is for sure, you can't blame minimum wage employee's who can't even afford a holiday for spreading it.
Laying blame is a pointless exercise anyway but understanding why governments failed to close airports, failed to enact lock downs and failed to stop the spread of this thing is worth while. The very reasons for their failings fall back to the constructs of capitalism and many of the darker aspects of it, the machine cannot stop or the world will end. But some real home truths have been revealed as a result, a nurse and other health care professionals are more important that celebrities and bankers, big business with vast physical assets are really worthless without the workforce, the people in the factories and shops who actually generate the wealth which is unevenly distributed to share holders and thirdly, our governments are willing to test the public with woefully bad decision making which could result in hundreds of thousands of deaths. A 1% death rate doesn't sound like much til applied to a population of almost 70 million, that's 700,000 deaths and something Boris was considering. I mean just think about that for a minute.
As expected the streets have been speaking loudly about the pandemic and Doug from FifthWallTV has done a great job in collating some of the current street art pieces from various artists including a Glasgow graffiti crew providing some good wholesome advice via a whole car piece spotted rolling into Glasgow Central Station. Mask's, toilet roll hoarding and self isolation are all covered along with the potential changes to galleries and their online presence. Doug is great at diving into a specific subject and gives a great over view of the current situation and why it's important we all do our bit, along with highlight some great artists like Felipe Pantone & The Gerbil Museum to name two who are innovating and using this time to create something new and exciting!
Many artist's have been quick to help disseminate important advice to their fans via creative public service announcements. Personal favourite 45rpm shared these pieces below as the UK went into lock down, admittedly about 2 weeks too late to really 'flatten the curve'. After all even Sky News have been telling us we're 3 weeks behind Italy and as we looked on in horror at the scenes coming out of the countries over run hospitals, UK Prime Monster Boris seemed to be playing with the idea of herd immunity, again the outcome being about 700,000 deaths. Although we're on a better path now, its still worrying to read about planes still coming in from Italy, America and China with passengers filtering off onto public transport, unchecked and unsure if they are carrying and spreading Covid-19. That's the real crux, until you're showing symptoms you don't know you have it and therefore can be spreading it in your community for up to 10 days. That's why washing your hands is so important, why not going around to your grannies house is important and why self isolation is essential!
Although we've not had an official response from Banksy at the time of writing, this older piece seem's appropriate in capturing a bit of the current mood. There's been numerous think piece's about the longer term impact of the pandemic and many friends have shared concerns for their children and the impact these events might have on them. Also where many of us take self isolation for granted with our incomes protected and more than one room in our houses or flats, many don't have such luxuries and indeed many don't have gardens where they can exercise or at least get some fresh air. The court of public opinion has been quick to reprimand those seen out in London parks and areas despite the fact that some people in big cities live in actual cupboards!
Various charities have highlighted the potential rise in domestic abuse and suicides also as a result of the lock down as people are forced to share close quarters during what is a stressful time so it's maybe worth looking at how we can help instead. Imagine your dream is to have more than one room to live in and a garden? Imagine your dream is to have a room to live in? Imagine you don't have time to think about dreams because every day is a struggle to survive as you aimlessly wander the streets on which you sleep as the trauma from your life experiences beats you down to the point where only alcohol or drugs can provide a little bit of respite. This matres mantra from David Shillinglaw below really struck a chord with me and is one of the best pieces of advice I've seen. Some words on a manky old street matres, destined for land fill yet providing sage advice.
The future is currently unclear with many of us in a state of limbo, banks are being forced to offer repayment holidays and toilet rolls still seem to be flying off the supermarket shelves. It seems like the current measures are the extreme but there maybe more to come. But from these dark times there's been a surge in public groups offering help for others, from delivering food parcels and shopping to online yoga classes and free creative workshops. When there's nowhere to shop and no one cares about your holiday selfies, what does life even mean? It's a time to revaluate what's actually important, who's actually important? Front line NHS staff, scientists, shop staff and rubbish collectors have all become the new heroes, looking after our loved ones as they always have, looking to protect us, looking to feed us and looking to keep our cities clean, as they always have. I laughed when a Spanish scientist was asked about why she hadn't found a cure for Corona Virus yet, her response of "you pay a footballer 1 million a month to kick a ball and pay me 1800 euro's a month to potentially save the world, let the footballer find the cure". And of course, these scientists will be the one's who save us but will they be recognised for their efforts in a years time? Will the shop opening hours still be the same David Shrigley?
The economic impact will be felt for a long time to come and despite government measures to help ease the effects through business loans and grants, many will still struggle to get through the next few months. Seeing big business ask for government bails outs, the same business who's leaders call on minimum wage zero hour contract workers to have 6 months of wages saved up have been exposed as they come cap in hand looking for help, Richard Branson being up there as one of the shittiest people on the planet along with the utter cretin who owns Wetherspoons. I think Effin Birds said it best below. People will hopefully be waking up to the realisation that many of those people in power, the billionaires, the shitty bosses, they really don't have our best interests at heart and would happily see us continue to fight over the scraps as they payout millions if not billions to themselves, wealth created off the backs of the working class. And yet many of these business have been exposed, the workers really hold the power, we hold the power, to spend our money on a cheap pint from a man who told his staff to go get jobs in Tesco or to support local homeless charities, foodbanks, the people who are trying their best to look after our most vulnerable and in turn make a better more caring society?
Anyway, that seem's like a good point to finish up this post and for me to fuck off too! I'll be back with part 2 which looks at more responses to the ongoing pandemic but also some of the heart warming responses from artists who are trying to add some positivity to the world. It'll be less politics and more good vibes in the next post for sure. Thank's for checking in and be sure to check in with those close to you from a safe distance and if you find yourself struggling, reach out, ask for help if you need it.
I'm thankful that my day job has allowed me to work from home whilst doing occasional days to help with staff training for the NHS. I play a small role but it feels nice to be doing something. I think for many the idea of endless holidays is bliss, until faced with it and then the prospect can be quite daunting. I've spent most of my first few weeks glued to news bulletins and YouTube up dates. The constant stream of sad news, fear and inaction from the UK Government put me in a strange mindset. But now feels like my head is better able to process things and I've found some light relief. Art has always been a go to when dealing with difficult experience's and I've been making mental notes and trying to capture some of the works, thoughts and ideas that artist's have shared during this situation so far.
Some artist's seem to actually be in their element in providing a bit of alternative commentary on current events while other's work takes on even more meaning as the world faces the fall out of Covid 19. Instagram has been the main source for what I've been digesting and also the platform which many have turned to as the number of Live videos, Q & A's and other engaging antics have risen dramatically since the lock down. A few favourites have come up Trumps (despite Trump himself exposing just how poorly suited he is to be leader of the free world ) and Spanish artist Joan Cornella has served up some laughs. I mean this piece makes sense at the best of times as big business continue to plunder the natural world and create systems which see's those with the very least hit the hardest time and again by inhumane government reforms. Joan's work is often cynical and on point. And I don't think he's doing anything in particular for the current crisis, it's just his default dark humour tapping into the collective vibes around the world.
Laying blame is a pointless exercise anyway but understanding why governments failed to close airports, failed to enact lock downs and failed to stop the spread of this thing is worth while. The very reasons for their failings fall back to the constructs of capitalism and many of the darker aspects of it, the machine cannot stop or the world will end. But some real home truths have been revealed as a result, a nurse and other health care professionals are more important that celebrities and bankers, big business with vast physical assets are really worthless without the workforce, the people in the factories and shops who actually generate the wealth which is unevenly distributed to share holders and thirdly, our governments are willing to test the public with woefully bad decision making which could result in hundreds of thousands of deaths. A 1% death rate doesn't sound like much til applied to a population of almost 70 million, that's 700,000 deaths and something Boris was considering. I mean just think about that for a minute.
Various charities have highlighted the potential rise in domestic abuse and suicides also as a result of the lock down as people are forced to share close quarters during what is a stressful time so it's maybe worth looking at how we can help instead. Imagine your dream is to have more than one room to live in and a garden? Imagine your dream is to have a room to live in? Imagine you don't have time to think about dreams because every day is a struggle to survive as you aimlessly wander the streets on which you sleep as the trauma from your life experiences beats you down to the point where only alcohol or drugs can provide a little bit of respite. This matres mantra from David Shillinglaw below really struck a chord with me and is one of the best pieces of advice I've seen. Some words on a manky old street matres, destined for land fill yet providing sage advice.
