Taking Ideas into the Open: HowTheLightGetsIn, Hay-on-Wye

 

In May, I’ll be participating in HowTheLightGetsIn, the philosophy and ideas festival in Hay‑on‑Wye — a place where thinking happens in public, arguments unfold in the open air, and conversations often continue long after the formal events end.

I’ve written this blog as a way of reflecting on what it means to take part in a festival like this: one that deliberately brings academic, philosophical, and cultural debates out of enclosed spaces and into shared, questioning territory. HowTheLightGetsIn isn’t about tidy conclusions, but about risk, uncertainty, and the generative potential of disagreement.

The post explores why these spaces matter now, how interdisciplinary dialogue reshapes the way we articulate ideas, and what it feels like to step into a forum where thinking is not only performed, but collectively negotiated.

Hay‑on‑Wye has long been associated with books and ideas; this festival intensifies that spirit, reminding us that knowledge lives through conversation, challenge, and encounter.

So... the all of the  above was written by Ai...  Interesting times we do live in... I will be attending the festival and taking part in a debate on: 

 Friday 22nd May, 19:00  - Desire and Danger in the Age of Self Love.

I hope to bring together my work surrounding research on sexuality, identity, technology with emerging developments such as Ai  and creativity amongst other concepts. It should be a lively debate.... visit the link to book your visit!

https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/hay

BIG HEADS PORTRAIT EXHIBITION AT ARTSPACE PORTSMOUTH! Oct 6-17th

 

So - for the last several months, I have been working in my little home studio, producing around 17 or so large (4ft) pan pastel and sponge portraits. Some of the subjects are in fact big heads in their field, such as professors etc - but some are just the joy of drawing a large portrait. I also did a large self portrait triptych - called 100 days of Trump - which one of the images is used in my poster.

Some of my other sitters include My Dog Sighs and Fark who are both fabulous Urban artists - so I wanted to show my appreciation of their work.

 

It is important for me to do this work as a contrast to my digital culture involvement, as I wanted to be able to grasp at the identities of my sitters - something I think is missing from the plethora of Ai images that are now flooding the internet. I am not a luddite - indeed I have done digital artwork - but I wanted to get back to the visceral context of working with paper, pastel and mark making.

Come along and see the exhibition if you are in the Portsmouth area in October and to my talk on Saturday 11th.

A realisation...

I had a fabulous time up in London where I gave a talk on my academic cybersex research at London's Science Museum. I also managed to visit the Courtauld to see Frank Auerbach's incredible exhibition of charcoal drawings. It totally took me back into my past when I used to draw all the time - and I was so inspired by the impact of seeing this show that it re-ignited such emotive feelings for me. I then had a realisation, that working in academia for so long had sapped any emotive context to my art work. When I got home, I found one of my old sketchbooks from the early 90's and I could see, with new and older experienced eyes, that the work was very emotive, The drawing marks had an indelible emotional grit about them, as I was exploring new facets of my creativity at the time. 

Talking at the London Science Museum. There was a great crowd, and the whole event was fun and really well organised! 

I'm agog at looking at the charcoal drawings!!

Here are some of my early emotive self portrait drawings hidden in an old sketch book - these are the ones that are emotive.

Consequently, I am now doing new emotive work. The current self portrait work below is large, (over 30 years since the drawings above) and is done with acrylics, oil paints, oil pastels and charcoal. This is a new departure for me, and I am very excited about it.

 

Always Learning... Monday 12th Feb 2024

 

Work in progress 12/2/24

I really enjoy learning new processes.  Have signed up for a little online course, and it has helped me to re-think how I approach my painting and drawing. The above image, which I am currently working on, is using an old abstract painting I did several years ago with acrylic paint. On top of that I am working with charcoal, oil pastels and oil paint. It is a self portrait, drawn/painted free-hand from a selfie on my mobile phone without gridding - so the impact is a little looser. The image is quite large and it is fun to change the scale of my portrait work. I'm always available for my portrait practice - as it I'm sure my partner, (the lovely) Ed, gets bored with sitting for me so often! He is very patient though!

One of my concepts of creating art, is the possible conflict between drawing and painting - and I want to break that personal conflict. The idea that painting and drawing are part of the exact same process is freeing me from preconceptions of what is expected in 'painting' in opposition to 'drawing'. I also love the excitement of this process.. waking up and wanting to get straight back onto the canvas is something that I have missed for a long time, ever since I started working in academia at University.

I have also seen the concept of 'mindful/slow looking'. Tate Modern talks about it and holds some events around  this. I have always had an intensity of looking, all my life - and I am slightly amused as to how this activity  has been packaged for a new generation who appear to experience this as a new and novel phenomenon. I will be broaching this subject when I run my intense observation drawing class later on in March. 

In the meantime, I will continue working on the above picture.... what should I call it?