Creating the Space
Art is not just a pleasing arrangement of shapes, textures and colours; it can only be properly appreciated in its cultural context. So-called ‘Conceptual’ artists use imagery to explores a theme that resonates with and provides insight into contemporary culture. In an age of internet dating and casual sex, Tracey Emin dares to explore female lust. Damien Hirst, on the other hand, expresses a more ordered corporate theme, in which feelings, emotions are put into boxes and bottles and categorised. But isn’t all art conceptual? Maybe historical notions of art... Read more »
All Change, Please
Life is a constant process of modification and adaptation, The basis of our identity is forged early on through the interaction with our parents. Our whole world is our family, our home. But then as we grow, become more independent, explore our environment, other people and situations influence us; extended... Read more »
There, but for the grace of God; a perspective on psychosis.
You’re driving me mad, I’m going crazy, I’m losing my mind, he’s just daft, it just doesn’t make sense! How many times a day do you hear such sentiments? How often do you express them yourself? Our lives are so complex, so pressurised that we have to work very hard... Read more »
Chaos in the Bowels
Jules Henri Poincare (1854 – 1912) was in trouble. The most famous mathematician of his generation, he set himself the task of predicting accurately the orbits of the earth, moon and sun. His solution was brilliant. It was nominated for a prestigious international prize, but just before he was due... Read more »
Was Dr Johnson mad? Aren’t we all?
He was a most strange looking man, much bigger than average and rather stout. Slovenly, dishevelled, deaf, almost blind with myopia; he slobbered, he dribbled, was host to all manner of people, and his personal cleanliness left much to be desired. In truth, he stank. And he had a variety... Read more »
Life expressed in water.
Our world and everything in it including ourselves has been shaped by water. Yet how much do we understand it. Left to itself, water approximates to a sphere, circular currents bounded by surface tension, but when subjected to gravity, then the circular forces in the water turn the flow into... Read more »
Rewriting the story
Our spirit or soul is like a book upon which we write the story of our life; a narrative that explains our attitudes and beliefs, accounts for our actions and may mitigate our misdemeanours. It’s our personal identity, how we see ourselves. It doesn’t have to be based on what... Read more »
In praise of uncertainty.
The Archbishop of York, John Hapgood, once famously declared that ‘the lust for certainty was a sin.’ This statement was surprising, shocking even, coming from the second most important churchman in the country; a man who engaged with the ‘certainty’ of God. We live in an uncertain world. We can never... Read more »
