DSCREET
SOS
SOMETIME AROUND DEC 2020
“Just a castaway, an island lost at sea, oh
Another lonely day, with no one here but me, oh
More loneliness than any man could bear
Rescue me before I fall into despair, oh”
Lockdown was a time to isolate, reflect on my sins, work on my personal growth, cry for help and get farken hammered. You have to be truly alone to do the “work”. The SOS bar is a collection of the bottles I drank, the songs I sang, the profound thoughts I pontificated on. I am a better human now, join me on a journey to salvation…
I spent a lot of time in isolation walking around alone, first depressed, then I found a way to look at things differently.
The world was upside down so it was time to discover new places to keep my mind occupied. To find new uses for the detritus in my brain and on the streets. This city became a strange jail with one hour of outdoor time to breathe, no painting and no surfing allowed, few outlets for anyone like me who funnels freedom into my art. I felt like we were all sharing a special kind of crazy. At first I began to go a little insane, listening to the media, trying to make sense of it all, trying to deny my relative misery, but there were a lot of conflicting stories coming out, no-one really knew what was going on. I meditated, did yoga, breathwork, exercise and then drank a lot of alcohol. I felt the same conflicting story in myself, trying to stay healthy and positive then destroying the good work with the polar opposite force. Somehow a balance evolved, staring into the empty bottles, I decided to put them to good use and decorate them with the profound lyrics of those who have been drunk and isolated before me, after all, many of us creative types spend even the most normal times in isolation, sometimes confused and conflicted. Sometimes there’s those moments of clarity at the end of a cycle.
The works in this show are realised from found objects I’ve salvaged from personal hikes through the streets and wilderness. The surfboard is a monument to those opposing forces that keep clashing in the media and in our minds, ready to flow backwards or forwards, I reached an acceptance that nothing can be taken for granted anymore and nothing is absolute. I’m happy to be sober and surfing and painting again.
- DSCREET
