These works were shown as part of the group show The Working Artist. This exhibition can be seen here http://theworkingartistexhibition.blogspot.com/. 

“I believe in Capitalism”

“I believe in Capitalism” is almost a showcase of what I have become during the past 10 years. The large drawing piece is explicit in how direct it is, as it organises and crystallises the ‘budding’ of my thoughts and ideas from the past decade.

The title quote was taken from an interview with a banker on the BBC during this recession. Its usage is ironic. However, there remains a suspicion that my inner drives still do believe in Capitalism. This suspicion is consistent throughout the book Going nowhere, writing letters to nobody, which forms part of this piece of work. Nevertheless this accumulation of drawings and writings, which go far in explaining my becoming during the past decade, also leads to a conclusion of an apparent massive dissatisfaction with my life, and society as such, under this system and an urgent desire for a massive societal change; in doing this the book has become a manifesto of my life so far.

The School desk, the chair and the book, face the drawing as if it was a teacher’s blackboard. This suggests, an education system which rears a society’s children for the benefit of the growth of Capitalism, but it also suggests the possibility of re-learning; being educated to perceive the world differently; which, judging on humanity’s predicament in the early parts of the 21^st century, may be essential for forthcoming generations.

On the drawing

My drawings require me to undergo shifts of manual labour; seemingly endless daily repetition. I could be almost undertaking a factory duty, and sometimes I feel like I am using a production method which rivals, in scale of input, that of the mass produce of the system I am trying to stand up to. For this task, the sturdy, bog-standard, office-like nature of the ordinary biro seems fitting.