(Written Friday 10 April,
evening)
I’ve talked about feelings of discomfort and I think that it’s something that most of us feel when we’re somewhere different or new. But very often we’re not away for very long, and because we are tourists we have an agenda - places we must visit, food we must try, attractions we must visit, photograph, hash-tag, ‘like’ on Facebook. It’s very tempting to do the same, I think it’s programmed into me to be in a rush to get things done, achieved, tick-boxed. I need to remind myself that I’m here for a month and that I can afford the luxury of easing more slowly into life here. I have only been in HK for 24 hours, and yet I’m aware there’s a very strong driver to be doing rather than just being. Actually looking around here in Lai Chi Kok there’s plenty to interest even though it’s well off the tourist trail. I remember the trip I made to the Alhambra where rushing around taking hundreds of photos left me feeling tired and dissatisfied. I have a feeling that maybe a few walks round the local area with a notebook rather than a camera might be more productive.
I’ve talked about feelings of discomfort and I think that it’s something that most of us feel when we’re somewhere different or new. But very often we’re not away for very long, and because we are tourists we have an agenda - places we must visit, food we must try, attractions we must visit, photograph, hash-tag, ‘like’ on Facebook. It’s very tempting to do the same, I think it’s programmed into me to be in a rush to get things done, achieved, tick-boxed. I need to remind myself that I’m here for a month and that I can afford the luxury of easing more slowly into life here. I have only been in HK for 24 hours, and yet I’m aware there’s a very strong driver to be doing rather than just being. Actually looking around here in Lai Chi Kok there’s plenty to interest even though it’s well off the tourist trail. I remember the trip I made to the Alhambra where rushing around taking hundreds of photos left me feeling tired and dissatisfied. I have a feeling that maybe a few walks round the local area with a notebook rather than a camera might be more productive.
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| Luggage Belt, Tempelhof by Emma Stibbon ©Emma Stibbon 2009 |
I’ve brought with me a book by Emma Stibbon for insight into how to tackle drawing in the urban environment - it’s a book of prints and drawings she made as the result of a residency in Berlin - what I really like are the 'ordinary' subjects that she chooses for her drawings - tenement blocks, stairwells, highway flyovers and road intersections, baggage carousels. The mundane and everyday are the things that interest her as much as more grandiose attractions, which she elevates through her attention and artistic skill into beautiful drawings and prints.
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