Although the theme of this blog is the way in which my work as an artist relates to other aspects of my life I am aware that some aspects of that context rarely get a look in. This has been especially the case during the past week, during which everybody’s attention has been on the developing situation in Ukraine. This has certainly been a prominent part of my life, and an important feature in my awareness. The link, if any, to my art has been subtle, but is nevertheless present.
I am not an active participant in politics. The primary reason for that has been my realisation over the years that I am not actually very good at it. There is no danger that I might loose contact altogether with the world of politics, however, since my wife is deeply interested in these things and follows events avidly. Nevertheless, it came as a bit of a surprise yesterday, for both of us, to find ourselves attending a political demonstration. I don’t think that I have taken part in any political manifestation since 1964, when I went to a Labour Party rally in Leicester, during the electoral campaign that swept Harold Wilson into power. My wife discovered that yesterday two events were to take place in Bradford at closely adjacent times, and we decided to attend both of them.
The first was a relatively impromptu gathering in front of City Hall, organised by a loose association of radical groups, to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This was followed very shortly by an event in the Cathedral in support of the Ukrainian community. These descriptions are chosen carefully, because there was a marked contest between the negativity of the first occasion and the positivity of the second.* It was interesting to find the Cathedral full.
I have spent most of today making preparations for my exhibition in Ilkley, next month. While doing so it came to me quite suddenly that there is a connection between the way in which I have been approaching current events in eastern Europe and my art. That is, the idea of time. The title of the Ilkley show is About Time, reflecting my realisation that time does run through much of my work in a variety of ways. I tend also to look at politics sub specie aeternitatis. (That’s possibly why I’m no good at it!)
*Here I go, you see! My natural leaning is towards a sense of objectivity and detachment in social affairs, and this is a habit I can’t get away from.