During the 2nd half of 2019 I was heading from London to Bristol to work there for two days a week. I was doing music workshops in psychiatric units. I would turn up to the hospital, set up a pop-up studio with mic booth keyboard, computer and interface to do my one on one sessions with various patients at the facility.
This is a job that I have come to miss even though it was quite a schlep at the time walking around town in the rain with a heavy backpack full of music gear wrapped up in plastic bags so it wouldn’t whort out. I have always been and still am fascinated by many of the mental health conditions I saw, interacted with and sometimes experienced. The idea of being at the mercy of scizophrenia and paranoid delusions is both terrifying and thrilling, yet in reality is just quite annoying most the time for sufferer. The stranger one acts the more people pull away, the more socially isolated you become, the more the demons creep in to keep you company. During this time I would just take random pictures as I would walk from one hospital to another to a comunity centre or a hostel to spend the night with my backpack which included overnight gear, cloths food, music equipment and a laptop
Figure_01 makes his first appearnce at the mouth of theunderpath to Stapleton Road. I needed to chross the underpass on my journey but it was entirely flooded. I took the photo as the reflections in the water were so clear then walked the long way round. I was very frustrated at the time but in retrospect so glad to have taken this photo which reamains the defining photo of Figure 01. Notice how Figure_01 stands both in and out of the reflection
There are many people living alternative lifestyles and living arrangements in Bristol. In many ways it’s quite romantic but at the same time it’s quite funny. As I walked passed this van with no wheels on the way back from the hospital I took a photo of it for the sole purpose of WhatsApping to Lefty “Found you a new palace”. At this point I saw the reintroduction Figure 01making another apearence unaware of any of the irony of the situation. the mobile home with no wheels.
Figure_01 in the Caravan whilst Figure_03 passes by undisturbed. Depictions of death as a dark angel, skelital hooded figure or black hole. There’s something about the idea of nothingness that we find powerful and irresistable even on an atomic level, it draws us in.
It seems as though Figure_01 truly does have a heart. Those who extend their love to an animal usually prove their vurtue in a Disney film. The elusive cat is proving hard to find.
Later that night Figure_01 emerges again. This time just finished taking a slash at my favorite bar. Make sure you wash your hand thoroughly before ordering another drink.
