The Freeform Trouble - Rare Monster Archives Returns With Dastardly Dispatches From Year -Two

The month of October upon us and as Halloween lurches towards us with one piercing eye and an outstretched claw, it is once again time for our researchers at the Freeform Trouble - Monster Archives Team to reveal this years ghastly findings. Seen here for the first time outside of government vaults, secret collections and classified files and for your viewing pleasure the Dastardly Dispatches from Year-Two.

The image above is Recorded Sighting: #14 – Negasus the Inverticorn

“Negasus the Inverticorn Drains the Happiness and Wonderment from Mrs. Elizabeth Jeffrey Barnstaple” (1936) - Shot taken by Martin Jeffrey Barnstaple in the bedroom of their home on Bannister Street, Withernsea, U.K.

We have all heard of the magical wonder of that rare mystical animal the Unicorn. Yet thankfully many of us have never encountered or even learned of its darkling twin. Only one Inverticorn has ever been known to exist in our world and its name is Negasus. Instead of a singular distinctive glistening horn, Negasus has a deep indentation in its forehead; and it is this deep pit, between its eyes that gives the creature its name. Here exists a pure negative space, a zero point of true nothingness, which draws all joy, magic, motivation, wonder and hope out from those who peer into it. It would in fact be correct to classify the Inverticorn as a form of Equine Vampire which feeds upon the emotional life-force of its human victims.

In this incredible image we can see that Negasus having attacked its victim in her sleep is now mid-feed, draining the joy and wonderment out of Mrs. Elizabeth Jeffrey Barnstaple like it is chomping down on a tasty bag of oats. This whole event was recorded by her husband Martin Jeffrey Barnstaple who amazingly went to get his camera instead of for help; but there are those who live on Bannister Street that have suggested that Martin was involved somehow. A charge he dually denies. Yet Martin had been seen meeting with unusual robed figures, at odd hours, in strange locations. Perhaps the Inverticorn was intentionally summoned to the Barnstaple residence that fateful night. What sinister forces were at work? Who were those hooded figures? Why didn’t Martin try to help? We will probably never know the answers to these questions. . .

Visit the archive vaults for more fearsome findings . . .

Upcoming Exhibition - Brittle/Fragile @ Westival Gallery, Castlebar Street, Westport, Co.Mayo, Ireland

Westival Gallery, Castlebar Street, Westport, Co.Mayo,

Wed Oct 23rd - Mon Oct 28th, 10 am - 6pm daily.

Launch Weds Oct 23rd 7 pm

Free

I am thrilled to announce that this October I will take part in Brittle/Fragile an Exhibition taking place as part of Westports Upcoming Westival.

Here is a statement from the Festival:

Through an open call, artists were invited to submit work on Westival 2019’s theme, ‘Brittle / Fragile’. The result is an exciting and varied group show showcasing selected work from Irish and international artists, featuring sculpture, painting, drawing and photography.

The theme proved a generous, many-headed muse, with artists responding in a huge variety of ways and presenting a multiplicity of creative interpretations – personal fragility, vulnerability as strength, frailty engendering feelings of protectiveness, the brittle geopolitical landscape, the fragility and ever-increasing vulnerability of our planet….

Thought-provoking and impressive in equal measure, this exhibition is a must-see.

For more about Westival and a full program of events visit: www.westival.ie

Upcoming Lecture: A Collage Of Consciousness as part of Collagistas #6 @ Maison du Peuple de Saint-Gilles, Parvis Saint Gilles 39, 1060 Saint-Gilles, Brussels, Belgium

Every moment of our life, our senses drink in fresh experiences, ideas, perspectives and information about the world around us. Fragments of imagery, sound, taste and feeling are constantly woven together to form the rich fabric of our conscious experience. Each of us is infomed by our culture, our education, our peers, our memories and our own unique creative intelligences in the way we select and sort through information from the wider world.

As we reflect on our lives, we can make sense of what has happened to us, what has gone before and what may happen in future. We look to the vast mllieu of our past experience to provide us with a map of the world and how to operate in it. But we also do something else. . .

In our dreams, our daydreams and through intentional creative practices, our minds bend, collide, break, smash, blend, meld, forge and integrate together previously unrelated elements of thought, sound, memory, sight, concepts etc. Into new, unique and fantastic forms. We are never satisfied our old map, continously adding new and colourful territories. A synthesis of old forms into new, an innate creative drive which is elegently reflected in the process of Collage.

The skilled collage artist follows his/her own intuitive and aesthetic sense, selecting imagery, cutting, tearing, placing, playing, dicing, splicing and bracing. Filtering the infinite possible array of visual and textual source material through their own unique experiences of living in this world, with its triumphs and trials; andproducing in the end something new, a singular reflection on the times in which we live.

Join artist Anthony D Kelly for a lecture exploring The Collage of Consciousness:

Sunday 8th September 2019

11.00-11.30

Maison du Peuple de Saint-Gilles, Parvis Saint Gilles 39, 1060 Saint-Gillis, Brussels, Belgium

As part of Collagistas #6

Upcoming Festival - Collagistas #6 @ Maison du Peuple de Saint-Gilles, Parvis Saint Gilles 39, 1060 Sint-Gillis, Belgium, Brussels

Its almost time for Collagistas Festival #6. It is a pleasure to have an opportunity to participate once again in this fantastic festival of Collage Art. This years edition takes place in Brussles, Belgium at the amazing venue of Maison du Peuple de Saint-Gilles. This years theme is that of The Universal Language, a fitting and important topic during this time of division and strife. Check out the statement below:

Collagistas Festival is a celebration of contemporary collage. Our primary purpose is to create an opportunity where collage artists from all over the world can come together to share ideas and thoughts about their collage practise and to disseminate this information through workshops and presentations. We provide a platfom to explore and discuss how collage is made and the role of collage in contemporary visual culture. We do this through the organisation of an annual exhibition and the facilitation of workshops and presentations. Our aim is also to engage the general public and the wider art community in these discussions. Our principle objectives are to maintain an international network of collage artists and to bring collage to a wider audience.

Opening Night: Thursday September 5th 2019 18.00- 22-00
With a Full Programme of Workshops, Presentations and Short Movies running Friday 6th -Sunday 8th.

For More On The Festival: www.collagistas.com

New Digital Collage - When A Child Is Faced With An Impossible Task

When A Child Is Faced With An Impossible Task is a Digtal Collage that struggles to manage in the world of the adult. Sometimes in life children can end up being raised into inappropriate positions of adult responsibility.  In the terms of Family Systems Theory we can say that the child has been subsumed into their family’s parental/spousal subsystem (In other words they have been misplaced into the role of a parent/spouse). Sometimes a child may even reverse roles entirely with their own parent (s) in order to act as a caregiver. This process is known as emotional parentification, and the strain of it can create deep feelings of confusion, sadness, lostness, powerlessness and isolation as the child struggles to handle emotional roles and tasks for which they are simply unequipped.

An almost inevitable result of this process is the loss of their childhood, as it is laid aside to make room for the excessive adult responsibility that they are now faced with. This gargantuan task of negotiating the adult world without the benefit of sufficient maturity or experience may cause the child to manage by adopting ridged roles of excessive care giving and an unrealistic sense of over-responsibility for the people and situations that surround them. A child can therefore carry an internal attitude that they must always put the needs of others before their own, and that they are solely responsible for negative outcomes in life. This exhausting and self-sacrificing attitude may then follow them into later life, ironically stunting their own growth to maturity in adulthood. Heavy stuff, so don’t forget to look after yourself and to get out and play.

Interview & Magazine Feature @ Creativpaper Issue #12

It was my great pleasure to recently chat to the team over at CreativPaper Magazine for Issue 12 about Creative Pressures, The Environment and the subtle dance between Interpretation and Expression. If you would like to read more you can catch that Interview Right Here

Seasons Greetings - "Driving Home For Christmas" (2018) - Digital Collage

Happy Christmas to all my family and friends. I hope you all had safe travels home and went unhindered by the Robotocizied Flying Demons of Gatwick Airport (Unrelated to the Ghost Cars of Croydon). I hope you are all happy and safe during this holiday season and in the year ahead!

New Digital Collage - Resonant Empathy

Part Of The Inner Space Series. Resonant Empathy is a Digital Collage which reverbrates like a tuning fork with the experiences of another and chimes a deeply resonant note within. Empathy is a natural capacity we share that enables us to feel into and understand the pains, trials, tribulations and joys of our common humanity. We get to the heart of a matter by opening up, listening attentively and picking up that which occurs in each other; as well as in the space between us. By practicing Empathy we learn to lay aside our own predjudices, predilictions and agendas in service of entering into the lived experiences of another person, stepping into their shoes and seeing the world from their eyes.

When we meet at this deeper level, we reach out and bridge the gaps between one and other; We can form powerful bonds, erode isolation and gain new insights, whilst providing sustenance and support to those around us. By really taking in the experiences of others, the act of empathy changes us; like a chemical reaction the interaction alters both parties, promoting growth, and deepening understanding of other people, of our own self, of how we relate, of the nature of meaning in our lives, and of the brilliance and burdens of the existences that we share.

Announcement- The Free Form Trouble - Rare Monster Sighting Archives

Here at Free Form Trouble we scour the worlds greatest Libraries, Aquire the most deeply classified military documents and trade in the most exotic black markets to uncover, catalogue and record these rarest of beasts in the annals of our archives. Whilst (Hopefully) most of these creatures have disappeared many moons ago, We are commited to recording their details here in case we ever encounter their Ilk again. So without further ado Rare Monster Sighting #1: The Great Winged Aphyatrix.

"Allied Forces Take Cover From The Great Winged Aphyatrix" (1938) - Photographer Unknown.

This is the only surviving photographic record of this terrifying beast. Allied Troops are seen here taking cover during a chance encounter with a Great Winged Aphyatrix on the battlefield. Reaching over 45 Meters tall and with a wingspan of 30 Meters the Aphyatrix is completely flightless, but it is extremely venomous and with razor sharp talons it is capable of running at top speeds of 24km. Although they were hunted to extinction only as recently as the 1980's its already hard to believe that such frightening creatures ever existed!

For more Rare Monster Sightings check out the archive here.

Announcement - Elements of the Inner Space series featuring in Gestalten Publishers Creative Pool

A great big thanks to Gestalten Publishers for featuring some work from my Inner Space series as part of their Creative Pool. Gestalten have produced some of my favourite books on Illustration and Collage so its an honour.

A little more about the publishers: The Gestalten narrative exists beyond the textual realm; regardless of the medium at hand, Gestalten wishes to inform and inspire our community. We welcome you to enter Gestalten's world of creative culture whether between our pages, indulging in images and films online, or at one of our international events. We look forward to the result: mutual inspiration.

Now thats certainly a mission statement that I can get behind!

Check out the creative pool feature here:

https://news.gestalten.com/community/blackboard/inner-space

Gestalten Home: https://gestalten.com/