To Show The World

Even though I have had 2 group shows since my degree show I still have internal tremors when it comes to letting my work out into the public arena.

The first question is "Is it good enough?"
Well, there are an infinite amount of answers to this question.
The answers come in the form of more pressing questions:
Is it good enough compared to what?
Is it as good as I can make it?
Is it good as a final piece?

Is it good enough compared to what?
This is the biggie.
This is the one that any person in a creative industry has to battle with. If you make something, perform, or are engaged in any act that brings what we call "art" (and by that I myself mean something unique that has been brought about by the talents of oneself, or an invaluable part of cast, contributing something to a production or show), then you are constantly holding yourself up to those who have come before you or are your contemporaries. The songs "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" (Morrissey), or "How Do You Expect To Be Taken Seriously" (Pet Shop Boys) always ring in my head when up against "the competition". Failure is not an option, but its pretty inevitable in some degree. Even the best lose sometimes.

Is it as good as I can make it?
Well, at some point work has to be finished doesn't it? Or does it. I get regaled with stories of artists who have turned up to galleries daubing paint on their work because they weren't happy with it, even after the shows have opened! They can never be happy with it, so why should I? Time runs away so fast, and even when I think I have enough confidence to face deadlines head on, thinking what I have makes a really good show, this melts away for no apparent reason other than just pure stage fright. Like an actor or singer (I have dabbled in both) who never feels they have had enough rehearsals, that terrible feeling of not being prepared or not reaching a level of perfection weighs heavy. Your materials might not be the most expensive, the work may look a bit ragged and not put together well, there's something wrong somewhere...
But the good news is, there's always next time, even if it's a disaster and you are met with a wall of apathy - you can learn from it and move on. Even if it means self-funding your own show.

Is it good as a final piece?
If your work has a strong research element, you might feel that nothing you make is worth showing in a gallery, as it is just part of an investigation. But a great many artists display work that's part of an ongoing investigation, like Gerhard Richter, and a lot of people pay a lot of dollars for his paintings! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and what you find interesting along the way someone else probably will too. Human beings have a lot more in common than is made out in the press, how else do you account for all the good mood in spring when the flowers come out? If a work is visually pleasing, not just pretty but has some deeper poetic qualities, it doesn't matter if its polished to perfection (see previous question) or not, if people look at it, its a winner. Quite often what I think of as a preliminary investigative piece seems to hold more interest for other people than a piece developed later on from the same idea, presumably because its more "fresh" and less contrived.

So in the spirit of optimism for my MA Final Show here are some photos of some of my works...