Author Archives: John B Ledger

Wrestling self-help language from Neoliberal-speak (self-help in a ‘cult of self-belief’)

This will be a clumsy post, a jumble of ad-libbing thoughts that have nonetheless been a concern at a deeply personal level over the past few years. I don’t think my politics has ever changed, really. The deep sense of bad and good (or healthy or unhealthy, through the language I so far identify asContinue reading “Wrestling self-help language from Neoliberal-speak (self-help in a ‘cult of self-belief’)”

Becoming After MA Degree show

This blog page has become far less frequented, and seems to represent a different stage in my (artistic/philosophical) life – a time when I wasn’t so bogged down in the affect of words, not only on others but on how they rebounded onto me. I retain deep core ideals, yet also a muscle memory ofContinue reading “Becoming After MA Degree show”

Imposter syndrome: a brief history of sadness in ‘the cult of self’

Below is a small text I wish to give as a presentation during the Fine Art Masters Degree I am currently undertaking ….Or ‘Wall, i’ A paper that keeps becoming art/art that keeps becoming a paper I’m here to make a presentation about my ‘practice’. But what if this practice keeps on becoming something otherContinue reading “Imposter syndrome: a brief history of sadness in ‘the cult of self’”

Songs For My Punch-drunk Idealism (cassette no2)

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about not only the pitfalls of mistaking moments of symbolic catharsis with real changes, but also (speaking as somebody who makes art, projects, events) in the real emotional dangers of putting all your hopes for change, to be changed, in such symbolic gestures – relying solely on great momentsContinue reading “Songs For My Punch-drunk Idealism (cassette no2)”

My Shadow Dispatches for ‘The Public Secret’

The Public Secret is a project our artist-led collective the Retro Bar at the End of the Universe held, starting Friday 31st August, in a warehouse on the south west side of Leeds.  For this we all contributed a dispatches – which you can find here. This is my long read which I have omittedContinue reading “My Shadow Dispatches for ‘The Public Secret’”

Can symbolic acts manifest themselves within lived experience?

2018 was the year when I had to ask the question the above title poses… Neoliberal Me (An Exorcism of) and #GE18 (The General Election of Governing Emotions) 2008 to 2009 – I learnt a harsh lesson: devoting a year to mapping one’s inner and external fortified walls into one symbolic gesture (one which wasContinue reading “Can symbolic acts manifest themselves within lived experience?”

#GE18 (The General Election of Governing Emotions)

Over the course of the year, I’ve had to ask myself a lot of questions, for numerous reasons. Part of the outcome is that I largely class the work I do as part of the collective I am part of (https://retrobarattheendofuniverse.wordpress.com). Here is the first event I am putting on since this deep point ofContinue reading “#GE18 (The General Election of Governing Emotions)”

The Mental Health Strike 22nd January 2018

The Mental Health Strike 22nd January 2018 The Mental Health Strike is part of a project I am building as part of the Retro Bar at the End of the Universe collective. The project is based on actions and moments that deposit social and political actions within the contemporary cultural landscape that would be seen asContinue reading “The Mental Health Strike 22nd January 2018”