...and that be 2023

 

Wishing You Health, Happiness, and all the very Best for 2024! 

Here's an incomplete summary of what I did, made, and published in 2023: 

Well, that seemed a short year! Looking back, quite a lot was done although the outcomes don't seem to match my sense of unrelenting activity... What was I doing?

I'm not getting into global issues here which were a mixed bag, heavy with bleak and there's a review of the year here at BBC News if one needs reminding. In this post, I'll endeavour to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative... it's all about me and what I enjoyed doing and discovering. 

Published Fiction 

My short story Perceived Value was published in online magazine Horror Hounds which also published Final Bough in its entirety with reproductions of the original illustrations by Katie Hone that appeared in the first limited-edition print run, back in 2008.

illustration by Katie Hone for Final Bough (2008)

Behind the scenes, I wrote two full scripts and two additional short treatments for a potential television series that probably won't ever reach the production stage. In which case (focussing on the positive, remember) I have the groundwork for a set of short stories or graphic novels. Watch this space. They're something like magical realism, maybe. Difficult to sum-up the vibe... Horror but imaginative and uplifting? I hope I have conjured wonder and amazing creatures with a supernatural-folkloric fusion. So, if you are an illustrator looking for graphic novel scripts or an eager television producer, please do email me.  

Cinema Critique 

My contributions for Frame Rated have been predictably varied - my personal choice of six highlights are...  

A review of what may be my all-time favourite film, Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001), Christophe Gans' take on the Beast of Gévaudan folklore - a fantastic and rather surprising action-packed, martial-arts, monster-movie, period-drama, intrigue-thriller... and so much more! And for the newly restored Director's Cut debut on Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD, I also had the opportunity to talk with Mark Dacascos about his starring role as the mystical Mani - you can read the interview transcript or watch the video HERE. 

The Fall of Akō Castle / Akô-jô Danzetsu (1978) is among the most important, and gorgeous, historical epics of Japan’s rich cinema heritage, telling one of the nation's most retold tales. It’s a perfectly paced, serious samurai movie based on what happened during the first years of the 18th-century and with this new high-definition restoration by Toei studios looks and sounds better than ever. 

Among the reviews I really enjoyed researching and writing last year were two early, highly influential, giallo-esque classics. One from the maestro, Mario Bava, with what is sometimes cited as the original and still definitive example of the genre: Blood and Black Lace (1964), with its beautiful use of expressionistic colour in some inspired cinematography and a twisty plot that was astoundingly original at the time. Another seminal psychological horror-thriller from Spain, one of too few from auteur Narciso Ibáñez Serrador: La Residencia / The Finishing School / The House That Screamed (1969) exploring themes of awakening sexuality and the subjugation of natural desires as a tool of authoritarian control, as well as being a great gothic horror. 

Finding inspiration in real historic events and persons, director Kinji Fukasaku was bold enough to fuse chanbara, period drama, Japanese ghost story, and Hammeresque supernatural gothic horror in the highly entertaining Edo-period fantasy Samurai Reincarnation / Makai Tenshô (1981). With very satisfying results. 

In my most popular extended review published in Frame Rated you get three-for-one with the boxset of newly restored versions of Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers (1925–1932) which comprises his infamous Freaks (1932): a controversial fusion of strange soap and horror - accompanied by two I had never sen before, and very few had ever seen these prints of The Mystic (1925): an entertaining and satisfying supernatural thriller - and The Unknown (1927): gruelling but absorbing intense psychological thriller and my personal favourite of the trio. 

Curating Contemporary Art and Illustration

I have also continued as curator for The Signifier : six : shot : gallery and was pleased to host some super fresh illustration showcases. Zel Cariad closed 2023 with her fascinating exhibition Creatures on show over the festive seasons and Nanae Kawahara rang-in 2024 with her whimsical yet profound exhibition View. And you can view both for free using the links below (click on the colourful images):

 

submissions guidelines for artist can be found in this edition of Signified newsletter: HERE

Writing on Art and Design

I have contributed several online articles about art, art history, design, and media. 
For Signifier my personal choice of six highlights are... 

Félix González-Torres and Depletion Art

Intersections with the works of Anish Kapoor 

Abram Games: Poster Boy 

Two Classical Chinese Scroll Paintings of Landscapes

Artists Using Light as Their Dominant Medium

Costume as Concept and Sculpture

   

My updates on this weblog are sporadic, with occasional bursts... To keep up with what I've produced, as well as information on forthcoming events and live appearances, the best SNS is my new Bluesky - if you are on Bluesky, too, come say "hello" - and of course, most of my long-form writing appears online at Medium sooner or later, so please do follow my account there.

I began using my YouTube channel more over the last few months - there are plans in the pipeline, so check-that out from time to time, or subscribe for what I think may be surprising content later this year?

                                  

__________________________________

in memoriam 

Mr Barnum (2009 - 2023) 

A Relentlessly Loving and Energising Presence

Best Friend to the Whole Family