Point of interest

June 2024 ... thoughts for the future..

I've been thinking a lot about the future over the past week. June has been an incredibly busy month for me with deadlines... but I have officially finished my second year of University!!

It feels surreal how quickly time has passed while studying, and part of me refuses to believe it because at times I still regard myself as the anxious teenager I was when I started Uni. It brings me back to that overwhelming blend of nervousness, excitement and uncertainty about the future that I wasted days away fixated by.

But then I reflect on how much I have changed - physically and spiritually and mentally - and I feel proud of myself. I have just completed my second year of Uni, and I am almost 20. Crazy.

Although its terrifying to look back and question how well I've utilized the little time I have, I also find myself hopeful for the future and the new work, opportunities and experiences I'll have. Like Jordan Peterson describes, "In rumination, we continue to obsess over the negative without working toward a resolution or way forward." I don't want to allow any more of my time to be taken up over fruitless worrying.

Anyways, in terms of exhbititions I've visited my Unis' Final Year Degree shows for Fine Art, Graphics and Textiles. It was interesting to observe their work and imagine myself in their position in just a few years time, and I found myself collecting more business cards than I could carry. I don't often think about the sheer time and planning it takes to organise your work and space for an exhibition. The coherancy your pieces muct have, how they interact with one another in an environment, what context you wish to give to your audience and in what form, maximilist or minimalist?

I found myself loving when artists would leave cards, zines or stickers that granted you more information or made their work interactive, I find it adds a further sense of connection between artist and viewer that can entice them further. But at the same time, not everyones work is made to be completely understood.


Current Reads

"On Anarchism" by Noam Chomsky. Probably not the best book I could have chosen to get back into reading, but it was on sale at rough trade... an interesting read, I'm not that well read on political theory but this book is esentially an introduction into Chomsky's theory, covering the foundations of his ideology with a focus on the legitimicy of power and potential benefits of collaborative and collective shared responsibilities within community. One of my favourite quotes so far has been regarding the functionality of anarchist resistance outside of youthful rebellion, "No form of politics is worth our time until it helps struggling epople get what they need, sustainably and reliably." As someone who's always viewed political theory as a looming barrier you already have be knowledgable in to even atempt to climb, sometimes throwing yourself into that wall is the only way you can find yourself trying anything.

Chomsky's optimistic view on Anarchism and it's ever-evolving state is a refreshing perspective from the inherint chaos that I initially percieved to be, and wrongly so. There hasn't been a moment during this book that I am not questioning and re-questioning how I lead my life and interactions with society. Anarachism is offered as the "blank-slate" ideology of the 21st century due to its exclusion from what is describes as "red and blue" politics - the idea that politics is secluded to two parties that are supposed to represent the whole populations ideals.

"Tranny" by Laura Jane Grace" It's taken some time for me to even access this book, and now that I can I'm thoroughly enjoying it. My flatmate lovingly bought me the novel as a Christmas present year... but she accidentally ordered it in Itallian. But luckily I was able to find the script online. "Tranny" is the autobiography of Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace and retells her extensive history in the East Coast punk scene in the 90's and her experience with coming out as a transgender woman mid-way through her career. It offers such a sincere insight of Grace's struggles, and I would recommend this book to anyone seeking the usual punk-rock memoir starring a misunderstood sellout, but with a twist that offers a new and thought-provoing persepctive.