indigo boy | 24 sept 07 txt

Monday 24 September 2007

"The young man in our story descended from courtyard to ashes, from ashes to earth, then to horses under the earth, and so on. The Wild Man passes him on the way up, having ascended from under the water to the courtyard, then to his own sacred spring, then to the Master of Horses, and finally to the state of kingship."

- Robert Bly from Iron John

For most men, and especially gay men, the journey to self-acceptance can be a difficult one. My work "From Ashes to Earth" deals with this emotional journey and will be emphasized by tomorrow's posting "Remembering New York". Both works deal with personal memory and childhood experiences. My ten works "The Red Series" deals with my own experience, memory, feelings and my personal journey towards becoming a true Wild Man. After investigating contemporary artist Penny Siopis' work today at the Michael Stevenson Contemporary, I realised the importance of raw honesty on one's work. I battle to understand some of the work, simply because of the intensely personal nature of Siopis' work.