The Importance of Feeling Earnest – The Evolution of Self

Adventure

When I was younger, I didn’t cope well with routine. An uncluttered, unpredictable and unplanned life was what I wanted. Cycle touring was a conduit for having an authentic connection with people. This photo conveys a sense of independence, a starkness but also a remoteness, a choice to cut off from others.  Yet, contradictorily, I strove for company and attention where ever I could find it.

 

Love

I’d fallen head over heels for Rebecca before I left overseas.  Instead of imagined joys balmy India nights sipping gin and tonics  it was extraordinarily hot and the traffic was horrific. Eventually, after four months cycling and fighting, fighting and cycling, we went our separate ways. The sign in the image became an ironic reminder of what lay ahead.

 

Ambition

I set myself the task of  writing a book ‘Bombay to Beijing by Bicycle’ at all costs – even relationships.  The book was published, a major achievement for me. More so,  was doing the one-show which I took to Edinburgh Festival.  For a sense of contrast,  I put my car keys in the shot. The cup and pen shows that I’m thinking of more shows to put on.

 

The Return

Now, I’m not saying I’m like Bourke and Wills –  get lost, eat your camels and die (do you think they choked on a hump?) but I do relate to their quixotic project.  I often bite off more than I can chew and don’t always arrive at the destination I want to get to. I like this image of  Bourke, peering towards the light behind the Nicholas building, as if he is still searching, never satisfied no matter where he is.  Alas, a lot like myself.

5. Pepper Pigged

I’d always put off having a family for as long as possible.   I’ve included my daughter in my self portrait to show the arc in my life from independence to being someone with a dependent.  Also, she is a part of me and I am part of her – her silliness is mine. Or is that the other way around?

 

Daily Rituals

Coffee.  It’s a daily ritual for many of us. I chose this because this is what my life has become – regular, routine, mundane and something I apparently need before I begin the day. I like the way I’ve film this – coffee front and centre, leading the way, me chasing after it, completely addicted.

 

Rejuvenation

 

We bought a house recently and my partner and I, are a building a deck. Renovating seems to be the ‘normal’ thing that forty-something people do and is often a point of conversation.  I’m a little embarrassed talking about it. But there it is.  A pile of life, one shovel at a time.

 

Bamp!…Bamp!

I was watching a red-mohawked emcee try to whip an audience into a frenzy at the Brunswick Festival. I related to it having emceed before and struggling to overcome the inertia of a not-so-participant crowd. I could feel his pain.