re: residency update.

hello lovers,

so the arbour residency is over. done. finished. how do i feel about it? okay. life is for living and learning, and what should have been a more one on one community based residency with adrian stimson was sort of blown up into a crazy monstrosity of 10 other artists. it wasn't what i was expecting.  it was perhaps a bit too much? it somewhat lacked curatorial leadership. it lacked more time on the land. hahahahaha. kidding. it was fine. it was fun. what am i being passive aggressive? haha. no, but you know, it was a fantastic experience, and i had some great conversations with some of the artists. that said, i did a similar large project a couple years ago with the Enowkin Centre, which became a great touring exhibition called, "Picto Prophecies," and to me, it had better results. we were more focussed. we spent more time on the land. on reserve. what i should have done was nut up and step up and taken more of a leadership role. meh. live and learn. i know more for next time. 

don't get me wrong, i had a good time. but i also can't really be around people for great lengths of time i've discovered. people need to create drama. need to create weirdness. and there were so many people in and out of my own place, workshops, upcoming exhibitions, visiting friends, colleagues, cohorts, conspirators, raconteurs, scoundrels and the like that for the past 6 weeks, i haven't had much alone time to reflect and think about all the incredible things i've seen and been a part of. 

now, i've got a couple weeks downtime, finally and thankfully, i can defragment my mind and contemplate all the things i've been through and process and make sense of things!? hahaha! 

but what i really want to do is catch up on a lot of missed sleep, lay on the couch, watch breaking bad, drink beer, fart, belch, sleep a bunch more and hide out in my man cave from the rest of the world. this is day three and i'm already feeling better. 

the human mind can only take so much abuse, overloaded visuals, information and crap. i've been on super high stimulation for so long that i am deeply enjoying waking up and staring at the walls in my bedroom for about an hour, stretching and thinking about life before i even get out of bed. incidentally, the walls in my bedroom are full of art. cheesy art. my kids art. heavy metal album art. all kinds. and blessed blank spaces i can stare at for some time. daydreaming. what a luxury. 

anyway, enjoy some photos from the residency. 

until next time,

cb

guess who's installation for the exhibition?

me and adrian stimson.

peter morin

re: throwback tuesday!

hello lovers,

some photos from the past spring. seems like forever ago already.

cb

re: today's adventures! woot!

hello lovers,

some photos from today's adventures.

more to come!

cb

re: songs of the land jam sesh.

hello lovers,

below are some photos of the jam sesh i had with kevin loring, renae morrisseau, and os 12, or ronnie james dio, i mean ronnie dean harris on beats! it was great fun, totally spontaneous, unrehearsed and kind of intense. 

this was during the "songs of the land," symposium, a word i'm getting sick of saying, it sounds too constipated for what really happened. which was we brought community together and listened to n'lakapamux songs, stories and language. it was awesome. amazing. i can't say enough. haha.

anyways, we came, we saw, we kicked ass and prevailed. a great time.

until next visit lovers,

cb

re: stein valley again.

hello lovers,

well, what a month and a half it's been. i'm extremely exhausted, but each day brings a new adventure and so i must go for it. 

below is the remaining building from st. george's residential school in lytton, bc, or rather, in the heart of N'laka pamux territory, the bastards put these buildings in the heart of every territory, making a loud statement. we are here to destroy you fucken indians. little did the arrogant bastards know that we would outpace, outlive, and survive and thrive beyond their cold, icy death grip. 

the church is intimidating. imagine how much it must have been for the kids that went there? my mother and father went there. what a fucked up place. it seethed evil. all the windows were smashed out. and board up obviously. my friend cease and i went there, and we walked around taking photos while i blabbed about the place and we went up those stair in the back to a pair of red doors. i pushed on them and knew instantly i could have gave it a good push one hard kick and gotten into that building. 

but, a cooler head prevailed and given the fact i had to pick up my kids later that day, i didn't want to be releasing anything unto me or the world. who knows how many spirits are locked up in that fucking building. the photo inside the church, which was creepy enough, was taken in the hole where the doorknob once was. i wanted to smash this building, to burn it down, to laugh as i was doing it, but i used every bit of strength i had and didn't. 

the other photos are from in and around lytton, bc. 

i realized on this trip that n'kemcin, really meant, where my rivers mix, or kumcheen. and kevin loring turned it into a play, called, "where the blood mixes." 

i also got to hang out with kevin and renae morrisseau, as well as ronnie dean harris during this trip, which i think was a long time coming. it was a intense trip, one i needed to make. 

until next time lovers,

build the flames ever higher, don't be afraid of hell, hate, love or death. life is too short.

cb

re: songs of the land......

hello lovers,

some photos from a recent week spent in lytton, bc, for the "songs of the land" symposium organized by kevin loring and his savage society crew, it was amazing to be on n'laka pamux territory again and connect with friends and family i haven't seen in awhile and to hear the songs, the stories and the language. bonus! gainer! awesome!

cb

re: savage

hello lovers,

the first two images are from a book entitled, "1492: what's it like to be discovered?" a book i have not seen in over 2 decades. this book was critical my development as a human and an artist. i used it to make my first rudimentary collages, large scale ones, and push my creativity further. it was the first thing i saw upon a recent trip to lytton, bc, for a symposium called, "songs of the land," hosted by kevin loring. 

my friend gordon had purchased the book instead of mine at the coop bookstore in vancouver because my book,"stone the crow," wasn't available. what a long strange journey to finding this book again, and he gifted it to me, which was awesome. it'll once again effect my creativity and i'm stoked to get to work. 

the last two images in this post, are from the Museum of Anthropology at UBC in Vancouver, BC. and that place is difficult to walk through, because there are so many ghosts there. the ghosts of the past, the invisible hands of the artists and artisans that created so many beautiful works of art, clothing and basketry. silenced by disease, by greed, by madness. now sitting in a museum. who is the savage?

re: a month.

hell o lovers,

it's been a month since i was last here and told you secrets. can you believe how fast time is flying? we're 8 months into the new year. i can't believe it. anyway, here are some photos.

the past month and a half have been crazy as i knew they would be, but i haven't had much time to reflect. gotta keep moving and moving.

highlights were many, vancouver with my kids, the songs of the land symposium with kevin loring and crew, my reading in lytton, bc, thanks to gordon and carel, of the twin rivers farmers market, and the tnrd library, i actually got to read in city hall! haha! it was awesome!

anyway, i'll be bombarding you with images, so take heart lovers,

thanks for coming by again!


cb

re: hand of fate.

hello lovers,

the hand of fate.

you decide if it's a lefty or a righty. haha.

cb

re: the dark arts.

hello lovers,

more new art. erotic? i don't know. also coming up with new curatorial and programming ideas for next year as a curator and the arbour collective.

gotta keep it fresh, keep it moving! 

cb

re: cyanide.

hello lovers,

some cyan. cyanide for you.

re: a new series.

hello lovers,

i'm doing some digital art again and it feels good. been away from it for some six months. i needed a break in the action. but started a new series. black and white images. i might add some colour. we'll see. i'm also working on new techniques. just to keep it fresh.

been a hectic couple weeks. back and forth to vancouver, bringing down art, signing contracts, and all sorts of stuff. i've got 5, yeah, 5 exhibitions in vancouver and victoria starting up from now until november. busy.

until next time lovers,

cb