the moth

I sent this to students recently … “very rarely – in my experience – do your best ideas come from you just sitting down and writing – it is born from constraint(s). Like some of these seemingly weird tasks we have been playing with. A constraint imposed on you by a task / topic / person / system etc. Anything like that.”

These images (i.e. shoot an image) and the idea behind it seems to cause you stress. Which is really cool to know. It is ok to feel uncertain. Unsure. With this kind of stuff. It’s an odd sounding task. The mistake is often trying to approach it in a literal manner. Like too logically. You dont have to shoot a photo of a computer or a phone or powerlines etc to make a statement – or be inspired to make a statement – about technology. The other common mistake it to also think – and worry – there is a right answer – and only one typer of answer.

It is just a prompt. A potential spark. 

Let me try and give you an example to help. I remember working on the ‘live behind backlit screens’ line / idea (that some of you picked out yesterday) with the student last year. A few months after it I shot a photo of a moth. And then I remembered back to that line. And right there and then I just scribbled down, ‘do you fly like a moth behind backlit screens’. And then I just kept going. And I embedded little bits of referenced info throughout and was trying to make a point about technology and life or whatever. And I never really finished it. But I haven’t forgot it either. And maybe I am waiting for my next prompt. Maybe you guys are it. Maybe you guys would like to finish it for me. 

Hope it helps. There are more words to it but this is enough to make my point …

the moth

are your dreams different now

or can you no longer sleep

do you fly like a moth

towards bright backlight screens or

are you organic component of a global machine

is it symbiotic

or sinister

a violence against your soul

are your wings now augmented moth

will you never grow old

And if so do you fly with free will

or because you have none

run moth run …