Writing

It is inevitable, don’t even try to deny it, at this time of year, we all look back and reflect on the past 12 months, and judge ourselves against a bewildering level of social barometers as to whether we’ve done well, or failed miserably. In fact, some people do this every month! Measuring your achievements or lack thereof, is something that can be quite a useful exercise but how can we avoid the pitfall of becoming bogged down with our failures? ...

Monday mornings are sometimes painful, coming off the weekend, back to the daily grind. Although I have no boss, as Neil Shearing quotes, without a boss it’s up to me to self motivate and get that writing habit started for another week. So how do I get motivated to write? Well some things I try are: Read news feeds and see what’s going on in the blogosphere Check out the national and regional news sites to see if anything interesting sparks a creative thought Get some early morning exercise (this helps to boost the energy levels) Check some social networks to see what’s cooking with my pals Read the newspaper Read over some old journals to see if a topic I’ve written on in the past could do with updating I find photographs a good prompt for writing juice. ...

Monday mornings are sometimes painful, coming off the weekend, back to the daily grind. Although I have no boss, as Neil Shearing quotes, without a boss it’s up to me to self motivate and get that writing habit started for another week. So how do I get motivated to write? Well some things I try are: Read news feeds and see what’s going on in the blogosphere Check out the national and regional news sites to see if anything interesting sparks a creative thought Get some early morning exercise (this helps to boost the energy levels) Check some social networks to see what’s cooking with my pals Read the newspaper Read over some old journals to see if a topic I’ve written on in the past could do with updating I find photographs a good prompt for writing juice. ...

I watched the movie The Harder They Come last night. It’s always been a great favourite of mine, especially since it’s a movie made and starring Jamaicans (my family are from this beautiful Island), however watching it with fresh eyes made me consider the deeper meanings embodied within it. Although Ivan (the main character played by the legendary Jimmy Cliff), takes a somewhat destructive path, I was enthralled and moved by his ability, despite the odds, to follow his ultimate dream to be famous one day. ...

I have now finished my MA Photography and Urban Cultures at Goldsmiths, just awaiting the final marks. The year was rounded off with a very successful exhibition No Right Turn, held at Underground Village in Shoreditch. This group exhibition featuring 25 finishing students was staged over 4 days and included a symposium on the last day with artists talking about their work. I was delighted with my first exhibition, and although not 100% happy with the final work, was very happy with the responses to the work by visitors to the show. ...

“The photograph is always about looking and seeing. Furthermore, the photograph itself, that is, the chemically treated and processed paper, is invisible. It is not it that we see, rather, through it we see that which is represented” Roland Barthes - Camera Lucida