Dont Look at the carpet...

© 1976 John Robert Rowlands - Station to Station/David Bowie

My previous works have in some form or other incorporated / referenced repetitive moves & twisted poses that have been somewhat influenced in some small part by German expressionism and I’ve spent some time trying to validate it more and more into my work.

I’ve been drawn to it for some time since it first influenced my early painting style but I’d been wary to contextualise it within my recent practise but consciously or unconsciously its cropped up here and there as a way to simplify actions into short abrupt moves but I'd never given it much thought. 

© Hilton Vasey

© Hilton Vasey

The use of more angular poses in ‘Just Waves in Space’ has become more prevalent as time goes on, enacting ordinary everyday actions like smoking, drinking tea and sitting down / falling over into this mishmash of 70's films.... I’ve realised other contextual influences are at play within the work.... this project initially is about memory, recollection and various cultural references of the 70’s and in some small part – occultism!?

© 1968 The Devil Rides Out Hammer Film Productions

I’m hesitant to comment here on links between occultism, Gnosticism, Qabbala or mysticism alongside certain artists of the period - out of respect of the copyright lawyers! –  but certain poses and angular combinations have popped up throughout their work over the years…"Don't look at the carpet; I drew something awful on it" hints to the practise of drawing the 'Tree of Life' as well as the use of angular hand movements and references to Aleister Crowley and Qabbala around the same time. 'Cheekbones Like Razor Blades' The Guardian 2010.

For some time I’ve unconsciously explored such hand signals, wall markings and ritual mark making as part of my practise, not because of any ‘spiritual’ interest (far from it I’m a practising atheist) but because of my interest in line and actions created through repetitiveness, I suppose I've always had in interest in that secretive, almost OCD way of control.  

The decision to use more angular poses and/or ritual I hope will re-enforced and develop a series of absurd and irrational situations of building something unobtainable… 

I’ve always been interested in the pursuit of failed experiments. 

So I’ve begun inventing visual elements of ritual to incorporate into the performances, as each is actually a series of repeated actions… whether or not this comes across in the finished work I’m yet too see but it could pose amusing to make drinking tea look sinister…it simply may not translate to film, video maybe but thats another story…