The Self-Isolation Residency 4th may 2020: Day 36

Air Gallery, Portrait Exhibition Open Call.

The self-isolation residency has been a very interesting experience so far, and as it begins it's fifth week that doesn't appear to be going to change any time soon. My working process seems to have really paid dividends, I set out with very little idea of what kind of work I would actually be doing during this time, the only thing that I really knew for sure was how I would structure my approach to the time and to making work. The idea for the self portrait actually evolved pretty quickly and although there was a complete false start which caused me to work for several days on the primary coloured version, which I always had my doubts about, once I moved into the dark version I knew that this was the right direction for this particular piece.

So is it finished? Well yes it is. I've spent the few days or so just living with the piece to be absolutely sure of this, but each time I have looked at it again I have not felt a need to alter anything about it. Granted there are a couple of details that I have considered adding, but I have come to the conclusion that I would be overworking the piece by doing so.. This of course all means that I am now moving away from the piece and that it has a more independent life of its own.

As it happens during this period of reflection I happened to come across the Open Call advertisement, top image, from Air Gallery. As with all other galleries their physical space is currently closed, but they have, like myself, started to reach out to the online arts community. In their case they have decided to use technology to curate their first VR online exhibition centred  around the theme of the portrait:

'We are seeking entries for our very first VR virtual exhibition at AIR gallery's new online gallery space. ​ The theme is Portrait;  we are looking for anything from traditional portraits to contemporary takes. Taking a theme that has predominated arts long history, we want to see how the self is represented in this turbulent times. A portrait is generally not a snapshot but a composed image seeking to display the likeness, personality or mood of the subject but what is the 'self' in the digital era, how do we represent the self when we curate our identities online and how can a portrait go beyond it's original restrictions in the modern day.'

Once I read the above brief that they had put out as part of their Open Call I realised what a gift it was and how well 'Desiderata' would, if selected, fit into their ​exhibition. Needless to say I applied and I am delighted to say that over the weekend I received  an email from Air Gallery confirming that 'Desiderata' has indeed been selected to feature in the exhibition. I haven't as yet got all of the final details as to exactly how the exhibition will work, as soon as I know I will of course be posting more details both of here and on all my social media platforms. What I can say for sure is that a link to the virtual show will be share in time for its opening next Thursday at around 6pm GMT via email, Facebook and on Air Gallery's website. Please look at for more updates virtually visit the exhibition once it opens.