Duchy goes urban.

I know all the arguments that condemn graffiti, nevertheless
amidst a culturally impoverished colourless landscape these
images bring a refreshing diversity.

Duchy

Self Portraits?

I think I do the same portrait over
and over just in a different disguise.

Femme Catastrophique.

Warhols quote which referred to Edie Sedgwick

does not show him in a sympathetic light.

The song Femme Fatale by Velvet Underground

was written by Lou Reed at the request of 

Warhol about Edie Sedgwick.

Poor Edie more a femme castastrophique  than a 

femme fatale.

No ghost just a shell.

'

A virtual space where her rights to an identity
and existence are constantly explored.'

Ann Lee is the work of Pierre Huyghe and
Phillippe Parreno who united forces to purchase
the identity of a Manga Character in order to pass
her around the art community and watch how she
developed in the hands of her many authors.
This exhibition at the Tate Modern explores the
possibilities of hijacking an identity.

Camouflage.

Sticky Fish

Came across this gum graffiti in Amsterdam.

Origins.

"Is a family name a homeland? "

This struck a familiar chord.

I also belong to a nomadic family

who have crossed between the old and 

new worlds, making new countries there 

homes, in my case multiple.

As we absorbed these other cultures

and adapted to their ways 

we still retained a bond with our past.

Not only the past made by oneself,

but also the past we have inherited 

from our ancestors.

Amin Maalouf's book is a meditation 

on the individuals sense of place and 

belonging, the meaning of family

and culture in 20th century Lebanon.

the lives of Maalouf's grandfather and 

Uncle are revealed through a series of 
letters discovered in a big trunk and 
therein mythology and truth come
face to face.


Maalouf is best known for his historical
novels yet Maalouf was also a newspaper
journalist. These two elements combined
romance and reporter come together in this
family legacy.


"We  nomadic souls have a cult for 
vestiges and pilgrimages. We may not
build anything durable, but we leave
traces and few persistent noises."

Just a small note as there has been some
confusion.
The above book illustration is something 
I made after reading the book, therefore 
don't look for it by this cover.
The following are the original and 
republished covers.

When the heart is full the tongue will speak.

Reincarnation.

Broken Dutch

An independent art project that set off to find the bitter
and the sweat of picking up a new language in a foreign country.
Text & Photography by Iric Chun Watson
www.brokendutch.com

Old illustrations.

Just began the mammoth job of clearing out old files.
I came across a series of collages I made for
a horoscope 12 years ago.

This was before the time of photoshop,
therefore everything was made by hand.
I remember spending hours scanning old magazines
and foraging through second hand book shops.
Once I had found the pieces I began cutting,
pasting and painting.
I still have my trusty scalpel.
Perhaps it is time to dust it off and put it to work
once again.

Smoking

Paul van Dam

I have been working on a portrait of the architect
Paul van Dam.
Paul died last year before he could see his final
project realised.
The developers of creative valley www.niccv.nl
asked me to make a portrait that could be hung
inside the building.
I only had a snap shot to work with.

The idea is to create a sort of canvas sculpture
with Paul's image printed on various sized
blocks which are than assembled to create
one life size piece.

I had art for lunch.

I had 4 glorious hours to roam the Tate modern.




















That should be enough to fuel my inspiration!