We started off our first Sitting Zoom of Culture a couple of weeks ago - which is the latest project we have developed. It’s essentially a bit of a chat with one of the artists from the group but it was amazing.
I don’t know if it’s just because we’re all so deprived of human contact, but one of the greatest things was meeting these people who I’ve spoken to online but never met, even though over video it gave a whole new depth to them. Michala Gyetvai was the first Artist who kindly agreed to be our guinea pig for the first session and showed us around her ‘Sitting Room of Culture’ along with sharing pieces of her work we hadn’t seen. Michala has spent the last fifty days of lockdown drawing the same part of her garden, almost like a diary, fifty different representations of the same space, no one the identical. It was so interesting to hear her speak about how this ritual has evolved over time, giving her the opportunity to escape into this landscape and use it as a vehicle of expression. It really resonated with me, as this is now how I feel about writing.
There is something about being creative and it’s such a great description when they say it sparks out of you. As with most things it’s like a muscle, the more you flex it the stronger it becomes. Creativity is the same, once you pop you can’t stop, the ideas start bubbling over and you look at life in a different way. For me it’s like I suddenly see beauty in the mundane again, the view becomes a composition. Michala’s view of her garden has changed each day, despite looking from the same spot, I find that concept fascinating. You could view the same thing a million times and see something different. Especially with nature at play, despite us locked down in the same spot, Mother Nature has been left to roam free. There is something hugely comforting in knowing that life still goes on, and there is a new found appreciation for the wildlife around us. It’s almost like nature is reclaiming what was taken from it by humanity over the years, and reminding us to respect it. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but birds are getting pretty ballsy since lockdown, it hasn’t taken long for them to realise they’ve got a free house. They seem to have forgotten that cars exist which isn’t ideal, and one literally flew in through the window of one of the bedrooms this morning. The new found nature lover in me quickly evaporated and I was screaming like a banshee til it found its way out, knocking over my coffee in the process.
Not quite Snow White vibes.
So the Zoom in session went pretty well for a first attempt, despite the fact Jude was lurking around trying to join in the convo! Firstly whilst waiting for the others to join he managed to trip over thin air and cut his finger so part of the recording is me patching him up with a plaster! Thankfully I figured out how to edit the vid tonight so anyone watching the catchup won’t have to endure my shoddy nursing. I’m also glad I had the foresight to mute my screen whilst Michala was talking cause Jude ran in half naked at one point shouting “MUM CAN YOU WIPE MY BUM”. Professional. The good thing about lockdown is everyone’s standards have dropped in terms of home working, I think most people expect a child with their pants on their head riding a scooter repeatedly shouting “Watch me Mummy” in the background of video meetings now – at least that’s what I’m telling myself. I was just thinking about that guy who went viral a year or two ago for being interrupted doing a News interview by his kids and the Mum creeping in and trying to drag them out. Oh how we all laughed at the time.
Not so funny after little billy lobbed a turd in your lap whilst you were on the phone with your boss.
What a time to be alive.