Did I ever tell you?

When I made this piece for ‘The Art of Imperfection’ documentary, I had a short time on the day of shooting to come up with something that would be the creative focus of the film.

It was hottest day of the year, the windows were blacked out, spotlights had been rigged up above and a haze machine was pumping out a thick mist.

I covered the studio floor in sheets of paper and drilled a hole in a large bucket. This was filled with a basic concoction of black acrylic paint and water, which dripped out as I swung the bucket back and forth.

The producer brought some X-Rays of teeth with her which I scanned and printed out to collage together with the splatters of ink into a skeletal structure.

Searching for a title, I pulled a random book off my shelf and glancing at the contents, ‘did I ever tell you?’ stood out immediately. I tore letters out of the stained paper and then wrote over the top, shaking the page so the ink ran all the way down.

(Book: ‘The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over The Hills’ Charles Bukowski)

You can see the full process here.

Papo Colo creates performances, installations, and actions that often combine physical endurance with political and personal symbolism. One of his best known works, Superman 51 from 1977, involved dragging fifty-one wooden blocks through the streets of New York while tied to his body, referencing the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States through an act of strain and resistance. His work regularly uses urban space, found materials, and improvised gestures to explore identity, migration, power, and survival.

New movie from one of my favourite filmmakers Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, The Neon Demon). When a mysterious mist engulfs a futuristic metropolis, unleashing a deadly and elusive entity, a troubled young woman searches for her father. Her quest collides with an American GI on a harrowing odyssey to rescue his daughter from Hell.

Cheers,

Joe

A selection of prints, T-shirts and other works are available here.