My work has always been political. How can an artist create and not speak to the wider context of community or land?
One of the (many) reasons we moved into the van was in protest at Britain’s Brexit vote. We still very much feel European, and in times like these I believe we should be opening our borders to help those in need, not locking ourselves away to fight it out on this tiny island.
I wanted The MthR Trilogy to be international in scope. In the first book, the narrative ranges across glorious European landscapes, from Welsh coastlines, to the peak of Mont Blanc, to the southernmost part of Crete, and many places in between. There’s memories of Kolkata, India, as well as future imaginings of drowning cities such as Barcelona and Venice. This photo is of our visit to Venice back in October 2018, but it’s been about fifteen years since I visited Barcelona and so some creative licence has had to be employed.
I’ve intentionally not sent the book out for preview/review because I want to do things differently. I still have two more books to finish in this trilogy and so a huge fanfare right at the beginning could suck all the wind out the sails of the next two books. This is a marathon, not a sprint, so I’m pacing myself accordingly.
I am co-creating some lovely intimate readings in natural spaces across Europe over the coming months, and years, as we continue to travel, and if you’d like to know more or consider hosting a small gathering of friends shoot me a DM?
And, as if the universe heard my desire to remain international, the first book launch event will be on May 4th on Clubhouse where I’ll be reading sections of the novel accompanied by the hugely talented musician Tze Toh over in Singapore (swipe left). We had a three-hour jam session last night on zoom and I’m so excited to share this new work and collaboration with you. If you’re not yet on Clubhouse (it’s an app) and want an invite to join hit me up in the DMs – I’ve got six left. Note – it only works on an iPhone. Thanks to my quite wonderful friend Soo for organising.
The event is free to attend, you just need to be a Clubhouse member. I’ll post the link here when it’s up.
No Comments