What is it that you have to say?

…and how might you say it differently?

Being in lockdown is a huge change that can take time to get used to. As the fog of not-knowing, not-recognising our own daily lives, begins to clear a little, maybe it’s an appropriate time to reflect on how we might want to work, and live, differently.

I loved listening to this radio interview with musician, Patricia Kopatchinskaja

- the interview starts at 35:00 in the progamme.

She talks - fervently - about her role as a performer of classical music, and the expectations and traditions that have grown up around concert halls and performances. Working within these conventions for her feels very constraining

… sitting in our neck… like a monster

She talks of “breaking out of this box” by making a change to the expected - like playing the encore piece early on in a concert rather than at the end. Changing a regular pattern, even if only slightly, makes us take notice, pay attention to what we had come to expect.

I was energised by her energy, and I’ve been thinking about how her quest to question conventions around making music could apply to how we perform our own poetic practices; how we do the work around what drives us. Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s projects upturn conventions, use instruments differently, and create new sound combinations.

In her words: give us a chance – you may hate it but you will never forget it

as artists this is our job – to make ourselves vulnerable

you just have to open your soul

perhaps all we need is to enjoy, have fun

Today in my studio space I’m returning to a long-time love – the possibilities of grey – and exploring what happens if grey becomes central to a painting, rather than merely sky or shadow.

detail of work in progress - paint on gesso and string, on canvas panel

You can explore Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s projects through her website:

 https://www.patriciakopatchinskaja.com/projekte?lang=en

A recording of the Dies Irae project that she talks about in the interview (and other work) is on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7GB8UTeuZ8