That dreaded “post-exhibition block”
I knew it would come… It came the first time I had an exhibition, catching me very much off guard and throwing me off course for a while, and kept appearing like clockwork after each exhibition or project. I thought I could avoid it this time around, but there it was, like the flu – you know it’s going to hit, and you think you’re going to avoid it this time around, or at least be prepared for it, but it still kicks hard, and every time it seems to be even worse than the last (actually, I got the flu too, so it hasn’t been very happy times as of late!)
Coming to think about it, it’s quite a natural thing. The effort that goes into preparing for a project or exhibition, when done well, is totally draining. It takes away all your physical and mental energy. To top it off, there’s that constant nagging feeling of incompletion which I am sure most artists out there will be familiar with. Then the day arrives, it’s a success (hopefully)… and suddenly it’s all over. Instead, there’s void. It’s quite a nasty feeling – not knowing where to go next, not really wanting to do anything for a while, and above all, no idea when it will be over. Then there’s also the knowledge that next time around you’ll have to do better than this, which in itself is quite intimidating.
After “Inheritance”, I was inevitably dragged into it once again. The project took up a lot of time and energy, and together with some other things, was a total energy-drainer. There is little which can be done apart from just riding through it, trying to “enjoy” that moment of mental quietness. It is also probably quite healthy, since I am pretty sure that force would most likely result in mediocrity. Eventually the ideas and enthusiasm start flowing back.
Since a short while now I have been thinking of new projects to work on, and have homed onto one or two interesting things. My process tends to take a while, with a few projects sprouting out and eventually converging or focussing onto one. I have some work I’ve been wanting to work on and I think that it is now mature enough to form a collection in itself, and I’m quite enjoying it.
Of course, I speak this way because I have the advantage that I am not relying on art as my main source of income. I can imagine it’s much tougher for the professional artist who needs to create a steady stream of work. I have gone through periods whereby I’ve yearned to do this as a full time job but now I realise that for the moment this is the best place to be. Having the freedom to work on something or stay put for a while is quite stress-relieving, although I can also think of a few disadvantages to that, including slower evolution and longer “recovery time”. In any case, art for me is an escape, and it can only be an escape if you want to go there rather than have to go there. That’s how I would like it to remain for now.
In the meantime, I’ve also put up the work from Inheritance. You can also see the whole set here.
