Intrusive Memories.

There were once two people who had no difficulty remembering each other's names. One was called Bob and the other Rob. They were the Audio Visual technicians at the Kent Institute of art and Design in Canterbury, during the 1990's.

One called them "Bob 'n' Rob" or "Rob 'n' Bob". One went to them to borrow equipment and to book darkroom time. In those days of course, digital cameras were in their infancy, a single pixel being about one metre square.

Despite almost constantly bumping into other people's pixels around the place , I actually managed to enhance my darkroom skills. I did this by asking B.A students. To this day I am a bit vague about technology and photography was never my strong point. Despite this handicap I use a camera a lot for my work.

The camera, and its partner in my perennial confusion, the lap top, are my constant companions. When I work with them one is immediately transported back to the 1970's children's programme "Catweezle". Such is the state of my technical expertise. "Nothing works!" was the refrain back then and it is more or less the same today for me and laptops and general computer gubbins. Actually, I am more likely to say "Fuck this shit" and potter off to the pub but it's pretty sure that nothing works the way I want it to. Statistically I am more likely to turn water into wine than master the ins and outs of files and albums. Burning a disc? That's a joke. It would be easier to whistle up my own arsehole.  And don't get me started on memory sticks. If you want to look like a prat, walk around with memory sticks on lanyards around your neck. Compound this idiocy by adding one of those stupid photo I.D things too.

Walking Home

It occurred to me that my main preoccupation may well be skin, or at least layers. The manipulated paper is a skin, the image upon it depicts skin. The layer of different coloured inks on the surface also form part of the skin. It is this layer of ink on the surface of the paper which cracks and sloughs off in tiny multicoloured pieces; flakes almost like human skin, when the paper is folded and creased. Writers often mention "partchment like skin". Maybe my current material of choice is "skin like paper".

It is however time to raise the image game a bit and dig around for other visuals to act as material for this research.


Meanwhile it is time to archive source material and get some prints made. I will be interested to see what qualities are retained.

June 18 Girl

IMG_6275_edited-1.jpg, a photo by paul g neale on Flickr.