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Monday, April 28, 2014

an event

"an event" front cover























I don't know how many of you are interested in synchronicity but there are times when almost everything that happens to me is linked to so many other chance events it can't be just coincidence. Even if it is only coincidence, linking these disparate events and choosing to play with them in my exploration of ideas and images in my work is an exciting way to see the world. When you start looking, there are connections everywhere.

Recently, I attended one of the most exhilarating lectures I have been to for a long time. The talk was organised by the State Library of Qld. and involved two collaborating German book artists, Ulrike Stoltz and Uta Schneider (USUS). There were just so many uncanny different coincidences that flowed from this one lecture, it is amazing.The friend I was with, was also excited by these inspirational women and we discovered later, inspired to do some work that evening after the talk. We both had difficulty sleeping that night. I was busy on my train ride home working on the back of a GOMA information sheet and jotting ideas in my diary to work from when I got home. 

I did finish that evening's work as a little zine  "an event"which I made in a small edition of 10, today. I haven't put anything into my Etsy shop, Microbooks for a while so will put it on the shelf there.

We both worked on different ideas canvassed by the artists in our own way that night and later decided it might be a good idea to do some collaborations ourselves. We have started working on a few projects together, it's a bit early to give you any details but the work does play with ideas of chance and synchronicity. 

The zine is done on the "Rules of Play" published as an information sheet at GOMA for a yellow painted score painting on paper, which a dancer Brooke Stamp, interpreted for her dance performance.
The score had a design, scientific, objective feeling and involved collage. 
"At the time I was interested in some pseudo-psychological personality tests, and took on the role of an amateur and half-baked Jungian. I believed that each shape I painted, each image I collaged, had a meaning to both the interpreter of the score and myself. Nothing was random:everything arrived in my hand via a series of synchronous events moving forward and backwards in time."

My collage and images in the zine mean to continue this feeling.




back cover






5 comments:

Helen M said...

It's great to see the editioned zine Jack - such a wonderful expression in response to such an inspirational talk.

rObfOs said...

Are you and Helen playing together again? Hope you have some fun :)

Jacobus (Jack) Oudyn said...

Yes Rob, but there's some trials and training before the game really gets going.

susan bowers said...

Nice to see you two collaborating again. Fiona and I have both gained so much from working together every now and then. We have explored a number of different means of collaboration and enjoyed them all - will be fascinated to see how you progress with yours.

Jacobus (Jack) Oudyn said...

Thanks Susan, some of your collaborations I have seen on the blogs are wonderful. We'll be very pleased if we can progress as well as you and Fiona have over the years.