KURIOLOGY Cornish Outsider Art Brut Sculpture creations are influenced by an eclectic interest in museum Cabinets of curiosities, Roman Greek mythology and their homoerotic male nude sculpture.
Other influences include dark macabre of Gothic, memento-mori, witchcraft artifacts, occult, and even steampunk
Showing posts with label disability Cornwall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disability Cornwall. Show all posts
An exhibition of ‘mixed media’ sculptures primarily created using
reused, recycled & re-purposed materials. Using objects gleaned from car
boot sales & charity shops on rare trips out with Red Cross initiated
befriender &/or more latterly the artist’s disability service dog.
The sculptures reflect a love of museum ‘Cabinets of Curiosities’,
Natural History, Taxidermy, witchcraft & pagan folklore, as well as
figurative sculptures influenced by Greek/Roman mythology & history.
“Housebound on
disability benefits for 10yrs means a lot of time, but few resources to teach
oneself to sculpt” – The Kuriologist
Outsider art, disability, appointments & dog walking
It's been a difficult week for creativity in the Kuriologist abode. This blog entry will be a verbal ramble. Bare with me. The week started off just fine with art sculpture related plans with an arranged visit by two gallery owners, Peter Fox and Roselyne Williams from Redwing Gallery Penzance to see my sculptures at my home on Monday.
Examples of various Kuriology sculptures
Redwing is gallery which specializes in 'outsider' art (or ArtBrut) as I discovered it is also called. Mind you I've only just discovered I am what is termed an 'outsider' artist. I've always felt more of an 'excluded artist' from the elitist educational establishment led art creative sector & Cornish art galleries in Cornwall. I find 'most' Cornwall galleries with a social media presence even on twitter ignore even those artists based in Cornwall.
Kuriology created Assemblage reliquary box
Home Visit from Redwing Gallery
proprietors
A big thank you to Peter & Roselyne for taking considerable
time & trouble to come out into the rural hinterland of 'here-be-dragons' backwater part of Cornwall
where I live to see my sculptures.
I had warned them in advance there were a lot of sculptures.
Having been housebound by my cognitive disability since approx.
2006/07 it has meant almost ten years of quietly in isolation & social
exclusion in building up a vast number of sculptures. These items created
purely for my own satisfaction, sanity & my need to be creative & doing
something constructive.
The 1st thing I think that hit Peter & Roselyne is my
study/creative room/living room. A
virtual ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’. The
video below is inside my living room/creative space.
The collection of ‘stuff’
can be a bit overwhelming & in a way is inspirational for my
sculptures. I almost only dust when its
deep enough to plough.
Most of my creations have to fit into my perception of a ‘wunderkammer’. There are literally thousands of objects in
my collection, many, many, many of which are my own creations.
There are literally ‘HUNDREDS’ of my sculptures throughout my home.
I took Peter & Roselyne from room to room downstairs, out to
the outside studio & upstairs to the ‘storage room’ of DOOM. In the storage
room of doom where sculptures are piled high & as many as six or more deep.
It was a delight to me that they appeared to like some of my work,
wanting to take pieces with them to Redwing gallery there & then. Also I was somewhat taken back by the to me high
retail art value Peter placed upon some of my work.
Now I have the dilemma. I
have never tried to sell my sculptures previously & I have genuine concerns.
‘WHY’ – because being full time career to my elderly octogenarian mother
& limited by my own cognitive condition having such a debilitating &
restrictive impact upon my life – I live in absolute fear of the Disabled Hate
Campaign policy this Conservative Government’s runs in their constant
& relentless Tory persecution & victimization of disabled persons who are in
receipt of disability benefits.
Being in receipt of ESA in the severe disability group I am in
theory allowed to do what is termed ‘permitted work’ & still receive ESA
disability.
However, it had previously taken 18 months to even establish from
the DWP that they (DWP) could not pre-determine what was permitted work until
you had already undertaken it?
Therefore, actively DISCOURAGING any attempt at paid work, even in
a very limited capacity, out of the genuine real probability of being DWP penalized
& further persecuted by this disabled person hating conservative government
so hell bent on further persecuting & victimizing disabled persons.
A real catch 22 scenario.
The end result of the visit by Peter & Roselyne was for me
personally encouraging. They seemed to like my Art. They insisted I submit two sculptures for consideration in ‘Alternative– Visions’,
a forthcoming touring 'outsider' art exhibition, which I have now done.
I now have to consider whether to try to raise the funds to put on
some sort of sculpture exhibition at Redwing gallery. The problem being I will be terrified of
making anything available ‘for sale’ for the reasons already given regarding Anti-disabled persons stance of the conservative government DWP. The stress of which already has had me in a
state of high anxiety.
The rest of the week has been a round of Doctor's appointment, optician appointment & veterinary appointment for both Tik-ma-dog & the cat. Each appointment on different days & an exercise in considerable logistical planning & stress. Especially when relying on public transport in rural Cornwall with an elderly & increasingly frail octogenarian mother who now finds it difficult to walk & to accompany her to these appointments. This has left little time for any creativity or even thinking time about creativity, especially with my also having a loose tooth & all that encompasses in mind jangling pain which jars the concentration process for anything. Thursday was the exception. It was such a beautiful day I just had to walk Tik-ma-dog on a decent extended stomp of several extra miles over the normal mileage, numbed by pain killers for the tooth. I loose teeth when I'm under stress - I've lost a lot of teeth these past few years.
Postcard from an Artist in Cornwall - 'wishing you were here'
Images from today's morning Tik-ma-dog walk
Most people could not imagine the sheer joy I now get from simple pleasure of walking Tik-ma-dog.
Having been virtually housebound from 2007 with diagnosed Post traumatic Stress Disorder, catastrophic trauma, severe anxiety, panic attacks & a form of agoraphobia, I now have developed a form of coping strategy since getting 'Tik'-ma-dog in January of this year (2016). Tik acts as my psychiatric disability assistance service dog.
It has to be said absolutely with NO thanks to any Cornwall & IOS health providers, NO help from social care, NO help from Cornwall Council, NO help from DWP or other statutory orgs supposed to 'in theory' help. Housebound the system leaves you at home to ROT - 'Out of sight out of mind'
The exception to this shoddy non-existent health & social care in Cornwall has been the Cornwall branch of Red Cross (who recognized I was a person in crisis), Penwith volunteers (Who then provided a befriender) & St.Francis Animal Welfare (who provided Tik-ma-dog)
Basically, I get out of the house now, just me and Tik, whereas previously I would have to force myself to go alone even two hundred meters to the local farm shop & be in a right state afterwards. Panic attacks can actually be physically painful - who knew?
Other benefits?
Well having become physically inactive whilst housebound my waistline had expanded over the decade+. Yesterday, I comfortably fitted into a pair of 32 inch waist jeans. The first time in ten years. Joy, as I had hit my first target weight of 80 kilos having lost over two stone in weight since Jan of this year.
That was down to simply walking Tik-ma-dog twice a day 'rain or shine' since January of this year. NO change in diet, just simple exercise.
So another joy yesterday 04/10/2016 was to take 'Tik'-ma-dog onto a Cornish beach, she & all her canine friends had been banned from since May of this year.
Big thank you to a member of Poldhu Beach cafe. They do not sell cigarette papers - but they found me some anyway!
This is a happy Poldhu beach dog
Ah! But what of my art?
Well this was a recent posting to twitter
Three sculptures created by Kuriology
....and these are two works still in progress
Work in progress
..and
'Tree of lost souls' - work in progress
There are 'always' Kuriology works in progress or as I have heard them referred to as, being 'works in detention'.
