The weeks that were: Oct 12th-25th
From the amazing Marisol exhibition at Louisiana
Working on…
Argh - I want to tell you that I’m working away on Things Men Have Said To Me Instead Of Hello and I’m on track to meet my November deadline, and I guess I still am, but the truth is I’ve been procrastinating like a motherfucker. I’ve started all five of the remaining pieces, and I have the designs, and I know exactly what I’m supposed to do with each one, but every day I find myself not working on them. I have not only a special event, but also an exhibition planned for early next year, and it feels like the pressure is on. The first half of the collection has been so well received and I guess I’m just scared I won’t be able to pull off the second half as well. I’m trying something new with the remaining pieces and I don’t feel quite so confident about them. Also, (whisper it) I’m kind of bored of the whole thing and I want to move on to the new, shiny, more dopamine-laden projects that are pulling at my hair, but I really don’t want that to come across in the work.
I just need to buckle down and do it, and I think I might rope Lars or someone into keeping me accountable or even body doubling with me in the studio until I get it done. Until then, we’re just breathing through the messy middle.
Thinking about…
I had a wonderfully nostalgic experience recently when a friend of mine invited me to go dancing at a goth night (you can see what happened here, and what I wore here), and since then I’ve been on a bit of a musical trip down memory lane. I really miss the days when music genres spawned entire subcultures. I’m sure (or at least, I hope) it still happens today on a smaller scale, but musical enclaves like punk, goth, and grunge were such a sanctuary for me growing up. They were the only places where I felt a hint of belonging or connection, because you were allowed to be yourself: weird, sad, angry, theatrical - that was the whole point! Did you have a similar experience? Was there a particular musical scene where you found a home?
Reading…
Revenge of the She-Punks by Vivien Goldman
Just holding this book made me feel emotional (although, to be fair, I was very premenstrual) and reading it was electric. A fabulous history told in such an interesting way - plus, it has PLAYLISTS!
Watching…
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
Some more nostalgia in the form of a documentary about the cult success of Rocky Horror - the ultimate film about finding community in ‘otherness’. Loved this, it’s amazing how some ideas (no matter how ‘out there’) just hit the zeitgeist at the right moment and spread like crazy.
Listening to…
I recently rediscovered an old fave, L7, and have been having a great time reacquainting myself with some classic lady punk. This album was on permanent rotation back in the early 90s (if you’re unfamiliar, this song is a great one for screaming along to when the horrors feel overwhelming)! When I looked them up I was delighted to see that they’re still touring and making new music - they’re all in their 50s now, and their newsletter has a wordsearch puzzle in it, which is the most wholesome thing ever.
