No. 89 

Actinium - Ac.

6th October  2014

Atomic number: 89
An Actinide, considered a Transition metal - radioactive metal, silvery white, glowing with an eerie blue light, sometimes with a golden cast.  

In Devon with my friends (Big Al and Claire: Ac - Actinium) looking at the cerulean blue October sky life seemed perfect and endless; warmth, smiles and sunlight - simplistic pleasure. The 'eerie' blue and the initials of Al and Claire (Ac) i have linked tenuously to the radioactive metal Actinium and the scene playing out before me, as I watched some children throwing flowers and pebbles into the waves and an old man placing flowers on a bench by the sea - both acts of remembrance, one a childish affirmation of life and one an affirmation of the dead. There was a small 'shrine' hollowed out of the side of the cliff which celebrates the life of a 'lovely wife' and this reminded me of the beloved teddy bear 'Alan Measles' belonging to Grayson Perry. The toy being Perry's own personal shrine to childhood and a 'childish affirmation' of life. 

"Alan Measles is my fifty year old teddy bear. He was the benign dictator of my childhood imaginary world, where his roles included surrogate father, rebel leader, fighter pilot and undefeated racing driver. I was his bodyguard for he was very precious to me because I had given him all my male qualities of leadership and rebellion. Now he is a guru and living god in my personal cosmology."

Grayson Perry  (alter-ego Claire).

I like the idea of a shrine which celebrates the everyday and finds hope in the ordinary. I would like to explore why we put our faith in the familiar; objects and imagery which bring comfort. The search for the 'quintessence of life' perhaps? 







My friend the Photographer Alan Cossey's exhibition of 'Constructed Still Lives' illustrates the point exactly. Find below a description of his specific work...

Constructed Still Lives 
" It is said that we live our lives as if we are immortal. Leave that 'til tomorrow, we can do that next week, month, year.

Part of the thinking that we are always going to be here manifests itself in the same way we collect objects, creating little still lives, things that will always remain the same, things that will always be there, a constant in an ever changing world. A constant that includes us, making us feel secure and that in some way proves that WE will always be here. 

In my photographs I have looked at the way in which people put objects together, things that they look at every day, things that make them happy or remind them of happy times... symbolic or religious significance. So here we have photographs, ornaments, drawings; sometimes mixed with the ordinary objects of everyday life; sometimes on their own as discreet statements, but all meaningful to the people who put them together in their homes. 

So ironically, death is present in our attempt to construct immortality. Things are transient - flowers in our still lives will die; children's paintings and letters will be removed and replaced..."
Alan Cossey - photographer
'Constructed Still Lives' exhibition
(1 of 12 works)

http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/236x/72/82/62/728262fc47d8c138705233ff827f45f8.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/704/240/1600/grandpagreg.jpg

http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/brooklyn-street-art-dan-witz-9-11-shrines-Montage1.jpg

http://kookykoolkreations.com/wp-content/gallery/shoe-shrines/caged.jpg

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/74/ba/a1/74baa13de3fa4a224f254e70ebb19f94.jpg

http://www.helenramsaran.com/Shrines/AWoman'sShrine.jpg

http://www.atcsforall.com/swaps/image2009/matchbox2009.jpg

http://michaeldemeng.typepad.com/photos/demeng_art/the-strange-shrines-of-saint-someone.jpg

As Grayson Perry says " I love a good shrine. Shrines to me embody the essence of what I do. I put significant artefacts in a special place for us to contemplate. The special place could be in your pocket, in a corner of your house, by the roadside..."

My own 'Alan Measles'

.. or for me a small beach on the north Devon coast on a sunny sunday.