Tuesday 12 November 2013

I'm glad you're alive!

The latest woodcut is taken from a hand-written note.  I was challenged recently to think about the philosophy that underlies my politics and having thought about it for a while, I woke up in the middle of the night with 'I'm glad you're alive!' running through my head. 




The phrase might seem trite, or twee at first glance but presented as a woodcut print in a formal setting, does it open up a deeper train of thought? Who is 'I' and who is'you' - is it one person, many people, or all people?

In my personal philosophy, I place a very high value on the human being: every one is important and has the potential for fulfilment. I once defined my personal artistic manifesto as: "I am for an art that loves everybody". For me, everyone is an expression of the one source of all things, which some call God, although I hesitate to use the word because our civilisation has created a character called 'God', choosing words to put in his mouth to justify our own actions, to condemn others' and conjour all sorts of mean-spirited bigotry. 

Anyway, as a thought-experiment, imagine treating every person you meet as though you are truly glad they are alive; valuing their lives and abilities, their past and future. It places heavy demands on our politics, priorities, and attitudes. That idea, glimpsed from the corner of my eye is the one I want to explore when I say 'I'm glad you're alive!'.

This project is only just beginning - watch this space.