Pieter Bruegel, a low level obsession continues

Detail from In Spain there was Guernica, They Are the We of Me, GoMA, 2005

I’ve long used Bruegel in my work and been fascinated by the uses others make of his imagery. Tarkovsky as a way to search for a memory of humanity (Solaris, 1972), Von Trier as a pessimistic nod to Tarkovsky (Melancholia, 2011) and Roeg more simply to connect Rip Torn to Our David while their characters…

Read More

“You’re studying that reality…We’ll act again”

Michael White

It was a beautiful day for hanging out at Queens Park Railway Club with Patrick Jameson. Michael White’s hilarious show was augmented by a fluro-Michael drawing horses for children. And then Douglas Morland went by, hosting a drawing workshop on the train. Festive!

Read More

Death 24 x A Second

Death 24 x A Second, Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey’s Death 24 x A Second (2006) has got me hooked at the moment. Buy it here. Read an interview with Mulvey here: Mulvey Interview 2007

Read More

Mirage Men

Mirage Men

In the mood for a good ol’ conspiricy? Then you can’t beat Mirage Men by John Lundberg, Mark Pilkington, Roland Denning & Kypros Kyprianou. The truth isn’t out there. Watch the trailer here. Centered on Richard Doty, a former USA government agent tasked with deceiving UFO conspiracy theorists, the documentary Mirage Men examines the mythology surrounding the alien phenomenon;…

Read More

Death Watch

Death Watch Poster, 1980

Another Scottish dystopian journey for me this weekend. Seek out Bertrand Tavernier’s 1980 Death Watch, filmed mostly in Glasgow, and reach for a steadying Cinzano.  Watch the trailer for the recent re-release here. Read about the film here.

Read More

Hamlet at the Citz

Brian Ferguson as Hamlet

A more twitchy, jumpy or paranoid Hamlet I’ve yet to see. Dominic Hill directed an almost unlovable Brian Ferguson as Hamlet, sometimes overwhelmed by the cast’s soundscapes. But there was lots to like about this production. That a horse-headed Goth band made sense at one point was a testament to the actors’ commitment. And the grave…

Read More

Artists’ Moving Image at the BBC

The Hidden God, Stephen Sutcliffe, 2014

I managed to miss both the Glasgow and the London screenings of these new films. All made with exclusive access to the BBC archives, in what must be a dream residency. Watch all 6 films by Kate Davis, Kathryn Elkin, Luke Fowler, Torsten Lauschmann, Stephen Sutcliffe and Alia Syed here.

Read More