I've long been a fan of street art. And I love to discover works in the corners and alleyways whenever I happen to be strolling around the city where I live or when I get the chance to travel. But it always bothered me that the medium conveying the striking colours and strong messages to my eyes and brain was toxic-- because more often than not, the message that the well-meaning artist was broadcasting contradicted the ill-meaning paints. Okay, yes, paints can't have a will or evil thoughts and maybe the artist was not all well-meaning...there are many gray areas, but I hope the reader understands what I mean.
When I was living in Amman, I was practising illustration as a hobby with the occasional commission but I decided to leap into exhibiting in 2006. My guilt about using toxic materials led me to making a series of illustration works made using only eco-friendly paper, charcoal and ink, all of which are harmless enough. To contrast those three materials there are three things I did which were not very ethical. I fixed the charcoal with some of my mother's left-over hairspray. Then there were the four digital photography collages that I printed in colour. I couldn't help myself...I had to have something with striking colours in the collection. And thirdly, the frames which I had custom-made were not 100% eco-conscious. Sure, I got a local framemaker to make them for me so I have to give myself some credit for buying regionally, but it was not and is not enough. I seriously started thinking that the next time I would hold an exhibition, it would be with more eco-friendly materials.
Well. The second solo exhibition has yet to happen, even though the whole experience of exhibiting, getting interesting interpretation of the work through feedback from visitors and actually selling most of the work was very fulfilling. It's just that I now work mostly digitally and for platforms different to galleries so it's probably going to be a while before something happens on the traditional-medium-front. But at least I can work long hours at the computer with a good conscience, knowing that it's being powered by hydroelectricity. Cheers to German conciousness and proactivity!
But enough of me, on to this post which might just catalyse that shift in my traditional art making.
http://this.org/magazine/2010/05/26/stefan-thompson-eco-friendly-painter/
When I was living in Amman, I was practising illustration as a hobby with the occasional commission but I decided to leap into exhibiting in 2006. My guilt about using toxic materials led me to making a series of illustration works made using only eco-friendly paper, charcoal and ink, all of which are harmless enough. To contrast those three materials there are three things I did which were not very ethical. I fixed the charcoal with some of my mother's left-over hairspray. Then there were the four digital photography collages that I printed in colour. I couldn't help myself...I had to have something with striking colours in the collection. And thirdly, the frames which I had custom-made were not 100% eco-conscious. Sure, I got a local framemaker to make them for me so I have to give myself some credit for buying regionally, but it was not and is not enough. I seriously started thinking that the next time I would hold an exhibition, it would be with more eco-friendly materials.
Well. The second solo exhibition has yet to happen, even though the whole experience of exhibiting, getting interesting interpretation of the work through feedback from visitors and actually selling most of the work was very fulfilling. It's just that I now work mostly digitally and for platforms different to galleries so it's probably going to be a while before something happens on the traditional-medium-front. But at least I can work long hours at the computer with a good conscience, knowing that it's being powered by hydroelectricity. Cheers to German conciousness and proactivity!
But enough of me, on to this post which might just catalyse that shift in my traditional art making.
http://this.org/magazine/2010/05/26/stefan-thompson-eco-friendly-painter/
