Lament For Wining Past

Getting older is never easy.

I was reminded of the inevitability of aging as I was happily bussin’ a wine to Arrow singing “Long Time”… although to be specific, it wasn’t so much the wining that was my undoing as the jumping up and down to the bit where he goes “oh oh, long time!”

I went from “oh oh” to “aye aye” when I came down and nearly dislocated my left knee. I had to style it out as I didn’t want my sudden infirmity to become apparent to anyone else in the house and was reduced to chipping for the rest of the song. And it’s a surprisingly long song.

Jump, skin out and wine up yuh body? More like jump, skin out and sit down.

Ah, for the days when I could hop around for the entire length of Preacher’s Jump And Wave – but one cannot remain 14 forever. I told my mother and aunt about my mishap via WhatsApp but I didn’t get a single “cuddear” for my pains, just nuff lols. I suppose they’ve been through it themselves, and to be fair, I did choose a fairly ancient song to make me catspraddle so I suppose it was funny.

A lament over the way I could dance when I was younger, and a consideration of the word 'nostalgia'.

Nostagia

Now, for anyone who moves away from home, there is a lot of comfort to be had in the soca from their childhood or young adulthood. We don’t like to let go. Krosfyah was part of my 90’s but Arrow was part of my 80’s, and the 80’s made some soca classics that keep hotel bands going up to now. So I was taking it way back… but this nostalgic trip became too literal.

The word ‘nostalgia’ comes from the greek words ‘nostos’, meaning ‘return home’, and ‘algos’, meaning ‘pain’. Hence, ‘homesickness’. I think I had my share of pain for my mental trip back to my youth, so from now on I might have to stick to listening to Gabby singing “Emmerton”.

I always end up crying, but at least I won’t be limping too.

Lab Rat Lee

Buying gallium with pocket money…

One of the amazing things about having a child is finding yourself wrapped up in their hobbies – interests that seem to come out of nowhere and sometimes fade away as quickly as they appear, but give you a glimpse of the personalities they’re growing.

I love the fact that my son trawls YouTube for experiment videos and can spend ages on eBay and Amazon looking for elements and chemicals. Now I need to figure out what to make with the gallium he bought with his pocket money.

What is gallium used for in everyday life?

Why, playing Terminator, of course!

It was great fun playing around with it, and naturally it instantly made me think of Robert Patrick as the T1000, but I couldn’t help wondering if this stuff was going to kill me. It stained a glazed plate and freaked me out when it left a grey residue on my palm, but I’ve been assured it’s quite safe.

Fearless John

Fearless John – the story behind a watercolour painting.

I was walking through a shopping centre in Ashford one day in the summer between terms at art school when something caught my eye.

There was something strange about the young man working at the mobile phone kiosk – I’d already walked by when my brain finally worked out that it was the handlebar moustache he sported.

Fearless John, watercolour painting by Lee Devonish, 2011 | handlebar moustache painting — Fearless John. Watercolour on paper, 2011.

A handlebar moustache painting was already on my mind…

I’d never seen anyone so young wearing a moustache like that, so carefully curled. It stood out to me because I’d been thinking about male facial hair a lot at the time, as part of a project on gender signifiers. (At the time, I was pretty oblivious to trends. I didn’t have a tv and I had no interest in fashion: both still true. I didn’t realise that soon, handlebar moustaches would be on everyone, even as jewellery and clothing prints on those who couldn’t grow them.)

After I got home, I started to regret not asking the stranger if I could paint his portrait.

It’s more than a bit strange, sure, but I decided to ask the next time I saw him, if there was ever a next time.

Of course, I did see him the very next time I went into town, but this time I was armed with my camera and business card to prove I wasn’t just a nutter. He was actually quite happy to be painted, which was a relief in that situation! I took my picture and scurried away as fast as I could.

Discovering my mystery model’s identity

After the term had started, one of my classmates saw my painting and recognised my subject as one of her friends and told me his name – John. I’d actually aged him up a bit. I now had a name (and a title) for my painting.

Still, he was very pleased with the result when I carried the painting down to the shopping centre to show him. That’s the last I saw of John.

This artwork is available as a postcard here.

Exhibitions – Preston Comic Con

Can comic cons function as art exhibitions?

I’ll admit, a Comic Con really wasn’t on my list, but my it was at the top of my husband’s, so off we went.

There are often interesting original artists and writers at these shows (well, at both of the two Comic Cons I’ve been to in my life) so I was prepared to seek them out in the midst of the standard superhero fare.

Having said that, this event made me think about the popularity of fantasy and how adults dressing up as superheroes ties in to the concepts of performativity and masquerade… as well as examining the all-powerful effect of the film industry on individual indentities.

Cosplay turns to social commentary: Trumpool — Cosplay turns to social commentary.

Ultimately, you need to just go with the superhero flow and enjoy the costumes.

The graphic novel dream

I did get to buy a copy of Dotter of Her Father’s Eyes, which Mary and Bryan Talbot signed for me – yes, I did bend Mary Talbot’s ears somewhat about graphic novels as academic writing but I’m sure she may have recovered by now.

I’ve been interested in their work since coming across it whilst researching The Thought That Counts, and whilst it never managed to make it as a graphic novel due to time constraints, I still had a wee dream of writing my own academic graphic novel.

Dotter of her Father's Eyes, signed by Mary M Talbot and Bryan Talbot — Dotter of her Father’s Eyes, signed by Mary M Talbot and Bryan Talbot.

After picking up a copy of issue 1 of 3 Parts Mad, I realised that the dream was very much still alive… I also knew that I’d chosen the wrong essay for the treatment. There was another essay, shelved, which would be perfect for it.

Still, this will take a bit of time. Until then, I’ll keep an eye out for more good drawing/writing and start the storyboarding process in between my other projects.

Any heavy, heady art theories on cosplay? Do share!

Expat Or Immigrant

Expat or immigrant?

Both are the same, of course, and I am both at once… but which word do you choose, and for whom? Your dominant affiliation will answer – how you see yourself and your authority in the world, and the authority of your country of origin vs the country you go to.

However, the history of the words and their applications carries much more than a personal choice.

Racism embedded in language

Many people think, with good reason, that the term “expat” has become synonymous with white migrant workers, whilst “immigrant” has been reserved for people of colour who go overseas to work. There’s more at work than just race. There’s nationalism and wealth to consider when we think of expat or immigrant.

Expat or immigrant - art about migration and how we describe immigrants. Expat 1. Watercolour on paper by Lee Devonish, 2016 — Expat 1. Watercolour on paper, 2016.

Hierarchies of words

The words don’t need to carry these meanings, but they’re reinforced by the way we repeatedly address the hierarchical relationships between rich and poor, coloniser and colonised, expat and immigrant.

What feels even more strange is the way that we migrants – immigrants or emigrants – refer to ourselves. As a Bajan abroad, I’ve always thought of myself as an immigrant. I learned to frame my self in relation to my new country, not my old one, even though I carried my old culture around with me and only ever saw my travels as a temporary measure at the start.

It’s the weight of culture that tells us that we are immigrants when we go to a bigger, richer country. Perhaps it’s time to start defining ourselves as emigrants or expats in our choice of language and letting that seep into our identities.

Expat vs immigrant. A work of art about the difference between words. Expat 2 - watercolour on paper by Lee Devonish, 2016. — Expat 2. Watercolour on paper, 2016.

Using art to talk about the expat vs immigrant relationship

Instead of using words to fight words, I’ve used another language to discuss this hierarchical relationship.

Fitting the medium to the message of immigration

Instead of treating these paintings with reverence, I’ve purposed them to be disseminated widely. They will only be available through print-on-demand platforms, and their imagery will be placed on somewhat incongruous surfaces for mass consumption.

Visit my dissemination experiment here: Expat 1 / Expat 2

Expat vs Immigrant Canvas Art — Canvas print available on Zippi