BEATS 'N PIECES

Wee hoose (nae moose)

Its been a while in the waiting but finally 'we' are the proud owners of a wee house. But don't be thinking this is the bit where I grow old and weary and start wearing ill matching pullovers while pondering over pastel tones in B&Q.
Well trips to DIY mania are probably inevitable. I did however manage to skate from my present abode on my longboard down the hill to the house in Sydenham the other day, whilst maintaining a youthful presence and make like I had something un-important to do other than pollyfill miscellaneous holes in the plaster.

There is something unnerving about the world of home improvements that you have to fight hard not to get sucked into. Our house is in relatively nice condition save from some mind boggling orange and pine colour schemes and a few scattered faux-antique light fittings.Yet there is almost some unspoken expectation that you must be in some hurry to transform the place in the time it takes to make an episode of 'Changing rooms'.
As the old song goes, 'we have all the time in the world'...just as long as you can make it to B&Q before 9pm.

Spaced out

Interesting challenges on a project I'm working with at the moment. I recently recieved a commission to produce photographic work which will be permantly installed in the new Health & well being centre, opening on the Antrim rd.
Its quite an interesting building and I certainly feel encouraged to be selected amongst a number of local artists.
I have been given two spaces to work with. One is a ground floor cafe with two seperate walls to work with, which is fairly straightforward. The 2nd is a top floor beautifully designed staff canteen with views overlooking Cave Hill & West Belfast through a series of simple but elegangtly placed windows.
The areas I have been given are the spaces between the windows around the circumference of the wall. This creates several issues, as the space is already in a way a work of design/art in the way it has been architecturally created and presents the outside landscape to the viewer. Any added visual material will not only contend with the view but also break up the continuity of the entire wall.
It is an interesting predicament to overcome before I can create the piece/pieces and how they are be mounted on the wall.
In some way the work needs to respond to the space itself but also the world outside without intruding but sit comfortably within it.
Answers on a postcard too.....

Careful now

Boop me up baaby!

BOOPY DOO I DO! 01/01/07

Well I said life was gonna change in a big way soon, just didn't know it was gonna happen right now!

Went to Jonny & Susan McEwens New Years Eve party to spin some tunes and wing the New Year in with a chilled night of good tunes, a bit of craic and a few friends.
I ended up proposing to Boops in front of everybody on one knee about half one in the morning, my headphones plugged into the mixer as a rudimentary mic.

I near well shat myself as I uttered the imoratal words of 'will you marry me' and all wee boops could do was bawl her wee eyes out for an hour as people danced on the backround and I made some attempt to play on into the wee hours.

So she never said yes, as she had always said I had to ask her dad 1st, so mr mojo here had to traipse round to the McElroy household bright and early on New Years day and do the honours.

Thankfully we cleared promptly off to Barcelona for 10 days where we recovered from the shock and found a wee ring and needless to say we are now happilly engaged!

R.I.P The Soul Godfather 03/04/33 - 25/12/06

A sad day for music heads everywhere. The Originator, the soul power, sex machine, funky drummer is gone to the great gig in the sky.

Time for thanks for one of the greatest musical legacies and uncompromising musical influences the world has ever seen. He's black and he 's proud in Belfast N.I as much as in Brooklyn NYC.
Respect from all the hip hop samplers, funk soul bruddas, Drum n' Bass heads and every DJ that spinned his tight ass soul tunes to a dance hungry crowd.
Respect J.B
Sofa Kid
26/12/06