This blog first appeared as a section of a post on my patreon. To see the pieces discussed, and the concluding restoration section of the project, sign up here. (No tiered subscriptions, pay what you want.)
Six pieces in, half way through lamentations and restorations, the lamentation portion of the project completed. This seemed like a good time to pause and reflect on all the pieces produced so far. I’ll discuss each piece in turn but first, here are some general observations on the whole project and process.
As I started the series, forefront in my mind was the effect of the coronavirus pandemic. I’ve had many conversations discussing the loss felt during the pandemic. For some this was loss of friends and family, but wider than that there was a loss of time, education and opportunities. I’ve been very aware of the grief that has yet to be processed. In many ways, this set of works is a reflection of that grief.
What I didn’t expect was that a project that began as a reflection of our wider communities, would become a sort of self-portrait. In lamentation one there are elements that were personal to me, but the piece was grounded within our wider culture and society. By the time we reach lamentation six the works have become a deeply personal reflection on the place of religion and faith in my life. Some of these pieces I see as generalised with elements of self-reflection within them. Others are self-portraits with elements of wider context within.
I’ve deliberately released each piece with very little explanation, preferring to let the pieces speak for themselves. When people have spoken to me about the meaning they’ve found within them, there has often been elements I had not intended when I wrote them. On each occasion there’s been something so good that it has become part of my own interpretation of the pieces as well. I find art is rarely static and has the ability for its place and meaning in our lives to adapt as we grow and change. It’s been an exciting part of sharing these pieces that their meaning for me has done that over the course of the project.
I’ll be continuing to post my reflections on the lamentation pieces here over the next few months. If you’d like to read them now, they’ve already been made available to my patreons here.