When I worked as a front of house member of staff in a nearby art institution, we had a saying to describe certain visitors who would arrive from, let’s be fair, mainly London and South East: ‘Columbusing’. The males doing the ‘Columbusing’ would arrive towards the end of the day, and step into the gallery,Continue reading “‘Columbusing in the UK’”
Author Archives: John B Ledger
The evolution of public transport ambience; the 2000s to 2020s
OK, I admit this is kind of about one of my pet hates. I really can’t stand phone noise on public transport. It’s kind of my problem; I struggle with noise. If there’s a interrupting kind of noise from the overall ambience on a train, for example, I’ll instantly be unable to stop waiting forContinue reading “The evolution of public transport ambience; the 2000s to 2020s”
“20 Years from now”, 15 years ago
“20 years from now, I’ll make it somehow…” was a work I made 15 years ago (Nov 2007), at the very beginning of my exhibiting life. I originally made it for a then popular local pub/gig venue. Naive work, no doubt; an expression of surviving in a world where ecological and political situations were expectedContinue reading ““20 Years from now”, 15 years ago”
I felt ‘Wrong’ for most of my life
Why do I feel so guilty for writing something which isn’t linked into with a more broader critique of society and political strucutres? As I do. But the guilt of not making a political statement can often make you write things you don’t even enjoy writing yourself. My next big venture may be a wayContinue reading “I felt ‘Wrong’ for most of my life”
London: 2022
The last time I was here I didn’t own a smart phone. It was also the day before the Brexit Referendum, and before Pandemic-anxiety began to deeply mediate how we negotiated urban space. But right now, I can’t yet touch base in this urban endlessness due to the disorientation caused by fighting off the intrudingContinue reading “London: 2022”
Post-Covid psychological state.
I’ve not been doing very well over the last year. Despite managing to keep making the work, I can’t locate a source of inner-well being. The atmosphere feels different since the initial optimism (what I’d say felt like a pause to capitalist-realist life) of those early months of 2020, when enough of the population wereContinue reading “Post-Covid psychological state.”
The fear of speaking about the political causations of (your) mental distress
I don’t write as much as I used to, partly because of the mental battle to keep focus, when it is constantly at threat of being ‘stolen’, (to steal Johan Hari’s term). It’s also, partly because I get locked into an inner conflict about the validity of the point I’m about to make in thatContinue reading “The fear of speaking about the political causations of (your) mental distress”
6 years since Fighting For Crumbs at The World Transformed.
A hell of lot of water has passed under the bridge since a group show I was part of (Fighting For Crumbs: Art in The Shadow of Neoliberal Britain) was exhibited at the World Transformed event, at The World Transformed, in Liverpool in 2016. I started to think back as this year’s event occurs, asContinue reading “6 years since Fighting For Crumbs at The World Transformed.”
‘Back to Normalism’
This is ‘Back to Normal-ism’. A drawing that will take will be at the forefront of a show of the same title in the new year. I have created a video about the work, which you can find below. Video talk through of ‘Back To Normalism’
Reflections on aspects of A Radical Redemption
I took this post down from my social media account, as the act of sharing this specific sort of work, at that point, was more a reflection of certain self-destructive aspects that bubble up when I feel like I’m drowning in harmful emotions. The work was called ‘Monster’, and was an installation within my mostContinue reading “Reflections on aspects of A Radical Redemption”
John B Ledger 