Studio update: September
I know I've been a little inconsistent here, I've been mega busy with my day job and am currently on a trip in Vietnam which meant I had to spend a bunch of time getting things ready before I left. But! As always I'm chipping away at things.
- My personal art
I feel like I'm in a good and transformative spot at the moment. I know where I want to get to, and feel that I'm developing the skills to get closer to where I want to be. Broadly, I want to be making more installations and exhibitions that are more than just photos on paper on a wall. I've started learning some basic woodwork and have a whole lot of summer projects lined up.
I want to be able to make structures, plinths, objects, etc that bring the photos I've made to new light and make walking through an exhibition of mine more of an experience and a bit more immersive.
When I type this down it sounds really simple, and in a lot of ways that is true. However, it's actually a bit tricky - partially because learning is hard, but more so because convincing a gallery or festival to allow you to do something you haven't done before is actually quite hard. So summer is time for me to build some proof-of-concepts and show folks what I'm made of.
My long-term project Corner Country is going well - I was able to visit a professor I'm partnered with and take photos in his office. I also finished several grant applications that, if successful, will allow me to spend 1 month or so in the desert next year.
A big thing for me in my own art practice has been working out what to try for and what to leave. I had a big list of things to apply for but I had a stressful day earlier this week and I realised that now is not the time to do a lot, but the time to stick to what matters most. I have a lot on my plate and that means being even more choosey about what I do, apply for, sign up for.
So - expect little in the way of new photos (I won't be visiting the desert again until April next year) but lots in the way of random woodworking/construction/installation.
Luckily I have a friend who will help me get started, and my parents generously are happy for me to do stuff at their place, which is so great.
I've also started learning to make my own paper, and am looking forward to doing some of that each week for the rest of the year.
I have some ideas for exhibitions, but need to pitch these properly.
- Tall Poppy
Well, TPP has been FRANTIC and it has felt like everything has been go go go. Mainly because I have some hard deadlines AND I'm overseas at the moment, little things that would be easy to fix in normal life have become quite hard just because I'm away from my PC. In fact I've found it hard to get into holiday mode as there's just been something to organise, respond to, sort out or crisis mode every day. And here's the thing: it's my fault. I'm not good at planning around holidays and it has shown up a lot this time.
That was a big red flag, when a few things sort of looked like they might spiral and maybe I'd have to cancel my trip and head home. Luckily I work with great people and my business partner Morganna came to the rescue. Still - a wake up call.
I've been starting the process for books that will be published in 2024 and also organising a big UK/EU tour for October/November. I'm looking forward to being at Polycopies book fair, doing a popup in London and generally being around showing all the cool stuff we've made at TPP.
But! A good warning: schedule stuff better Matt.
Additionally, I'm learning a lot more about what I can afford. October will be the first time, ever, that I've put out two books at the same time - which means two printing bills. It's one of those things where I've gone 'oh, shit, ok, will this all add up?' (it will, but the money isn't something I can be on autopilot about). I've sort of put myself in a spot where I need to sell quite a few books in October and November to be set for 2024. It's a bigger bet than I was planning on making but I think it's important to test how resilient the business and finances are.
After all, if I can't publish this many books this quickly and make money I need to know that and adjust my business model and schedule.
Thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered :)
- Day job
My day job has been a bit busy, but in good ways. For the first time in years I actually really enjoy what I'm doing and don't want to disconnect. This has made things like running workshops, etc, much less interesting or motivating to me and I've found myself cancelling a few. When the day job is good, putting in extra weekend work just isn't as attractive. I also think there's a bit of a glut of photo related workshops in Melbourne at the moment.
I've been thinking a lot about how I balance my ambition and feelings that I have so much I could do with the reality that I do get tired, if I take on too much I drop the ball on some things and that I don't have unlimited money. Everyone knows these things to be true, but I can definitely be guilty of going all in, and I have to make sure to mitigate that slightly :)
Hope you're all well, much love from Vietnam.